Schoolhouse Rock
by RexRock
Summary: [NOW NOVELIZED, BROKEN DOWN AND WITH EXPANDED NARRATION] Ever wondered what Dr Neo Cortex was like when he was younger? Here's one side of the story. Readers beware - it doesn't exactly say what it says on the tin.
1. That's What Friends Are For

-AUTHOR NOTES-

Whoa, I used to write stories like this? o.O()

Anyhow, this story itself was shown as one of my very first fanfics uploaded. "Schoolhouse Rock", a tale basically following the core elements of Neo Cortex's darker youthhood days, was first written in October/November 2000, and from there developed the start of something big. Two more stories then followed on from it and made it a stronger release than it previously was.

So what the heck am I doing here? Due to the site's new rules I've gone about novelising it. Hopefully it'll make things easier to read for some.

Hope you like it as much as I enjoyed... converting it?!?

Peace out,

-Rexy-

---  
  
_"For every hero there was a creator. For every villain there was a beginning. For every event there was a cause of action in which started it all. This... this is how it all began..."_

A camera zoomed through a school window situated in Panama City in Florida, where a batch of children was in a lecture. Then it approached one of those pupils.  
"What will come of my future?" he started thinking to himself. "The worries are in my head..."  
The boy next to him slapped him on the face. Before the other tried to speak, he was stopped.  
"Shhhhhh. They're going to announce the Pupil Of The Year award", he whispered with an excited tone.  
"Thanks Gary", the first boy sighed with a bored expression.  
A brown haired headmistress then managed to walk its way across the stage, wearing a purple dress and a sky blue band in her hair. She would have looked more like a popstar than a school teacher.  
"Right", she spoke with a deep voice. "This year's star pupil always goes to the hardest working pupil in the school. This year is no exception as we had so many putting in their effort..."  
While she spoke, Gary looked excited while the other boy didn't even bother, folding his arms with disgust. She herself showed a golden envelope with a copper seal on it, and it was there that she started to giggle with excitement.  
"And this year's pupil of the year iiiiiiis..." The seal was removed, and a small card came out from the envelope, showing the name in front of her. "Why... It goes to Neo Cortex!"  
There was a wild applause from the other pupils, thundering the hallway through every passing second. In the crowd, Gary was seen pointing at his partner, smiling at him.  
"That's you! Go ahead and claim the prize!"  
"But..." he paused. "I'm a bit shy."  
Gary started laughing like a hyena. "Don't be chicken! Be a brave fox and make us proud!"  
And so he did go up onto the stage to collect a golden trophy which showed itself to be a structure covered in antique gold, yet it still felt light enough for him to carry.  
"Congratulations, young man", smiled the Head. "I hope you had a great time in your last year at elementary school and are looking forward to high school come 2 months time!"  
Neo tried to respond back, but that was until a bell started to ring in the background, causing him to blink lightly.  
"There goes the bell", smiled the Head. "I hope you kids have a great summer vacation! Play safe!"  
And so it was there that the children instantly stormed outside without a care in the world. Within the crowd, Neo was seen pushing his way through them donning blue and white roller skates on his feet. He soon broke away from the group, and started making his way down a nearby street.

* * *

**-FAN FICTION PRESENTS-**

-A fanfic by RexRock-

**-SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK-**

* * *

The scene soon makes its change towards another area of the city, this time teenagers were seen emerging from a totally different school altogether. It was there that a girl with orange-blonde hair put into pigtails was seen looking down with disappointment and leaning on the walls of the school. Soon enough Neo emerged and approached her very quickly.  
"Hey Hallie!" he smiled. "What's up?"  
The girl still looked down and sighed, with worries totally filling her eyes. That caused him to start coming closer to her, placing a hand firmly onto one of her shoulders.  
"What's the matter?" he asked. "Surely something's troubling you..."  
"It's true", she sighed with disappointment. "I failed my final exam, and I'll never get a job."  
"Cheer up - there are still the others", he blinked with optimism.  
"I failed them too."  
Neo's expression suddenly started to show shock. "Dear oh dear, I feel so sorry for you. At least you can still be a big help and try some private tuition."  
"But it's too expensive and we aren't doing too well when it comes to good jobs", she quivered. "You and Lio are our only hopes."  
"We'll see about that come the next few years", he smiled. "Until then, how about I take you for a ride home?"

* * *

And it was a few seconds later, where Neo and Hallie were seen skating home together, pulling off various stunts as they did so. Soon enough, they approached their home - an old, small flat - and went in instantly.  
"HEY GUYS - WE'RE HOME!" they cried out in unison.  
There was silence. They soon paid attention to 3 other people in the room, all looking down. There was a female with sapphire blue eyes and pink hair that reassembled a sheepdog's in style due to the droopy spikes around the back and spikes. Next to her sat a green haired youth covering one of his brown eyes with a handkerchief. And right at the far end of the table was a grown adult about 10 years older than Neo, with green eyes and blue messy hair that could mistake him to be a girl.  
"Let me guess - another case of Down's syndrome", shrugged Neo.  
"Very funny", said Hallie sarcastically as she walked her way towards the others. "I'll run through you all one by one. Lio?"  
"Look what happened to me at football", cried the green haired male.  
He brought the handkerchief away from his face and showed an eye socket that looked empty, oozing with red flesh and blood remains. The sight of it caused Neo to scream on the spot.  
"Pass the sick bag!" he shouted as he covered his eyes with his hands. "Please try and cover it up..."  
"Okay", he smiled as he quickly brought out a comb, took off a red baseball cap and used the comb to brush his fringe over the socket.  
"That is something I shouldn't wake up to", Hallie started to shake. "Tiko?"  
"Lio earned that missing eye because of a nuclear explosion", the blue haired male said with a straight face. "When I came to help him out, look at what it caused!"  
Tiko managed to stand up on both feet, and once there he showed his back, where a brown furry monkey tail started to poke out from behind him, leaving it to twitch every few seconds.  
"You have a tail?" gasped Neo with awe. "That's positive!"  
"Maybe in some cases, but coolness isn't everything", said Hallie with a twitch of the nose. "Deksta?"  
"I have 2 bits of bad news here", the pink haired girl said while shaking her hands. "One is that I was fired..."  
"Neo and Lio will sort that out soon", she said, totally oblivious to what she said. But a few seconds later, her eyes widened. "YOU'RE FIRED?!? What could you do wrong?"  
"I'll tell you later", she nodded. "The second thing is more serious. Our parents are dead in a recent car crash", she said without a care in the world.  
"You..." Neo paused. "What..." He tried to get the words out of his mouth, but that just left a tear to fall down his face.  
"Chill, please", Hallie said to Neo with a sympathetic look.  
"And we have to leave this place tomorrow because no one is organized enough to look after one another", Deksta frowned.  
Neo's expression started to show more fear and sorrow, leaving him to bring his head down. "It can't get any worse..."  
"Here, let me take you upstairs", nodded Hallie.

* * *

Several minutes passed, until both Neo and Hallie settled themselves down on their parents' bed. Family photos surrounded the room, and animal structures were seen standing tall on every shelf. At the pillow end, Hallie brought out her hands, and rubbed the hands for her younger brother.  
"Listen - We didn't expect this to happen."  
"I didn't either", Neo sighed as he looked down with more pity on him. "We're doomed..."  
"No we're not", she nodded with optimism. "I am sure that in the next hour or so, Tiko will order for an orphanage we can stay in until one of us is properly educated and gets a good job."  
"Yeah, like me or Lio", he sighed with a depressed tone.  
"It doesn't matter about that right now", she nodded. "For now we have a good home to come on our hands."  
And so she left the room, with her torn green clothing trailing behind her. She soon made her way downstairs, leaving Neo alone in the room. He placed his back against the bed, showing a worried look upon him.  
"What will become of my future now? Will it be..." he gulped. "Short-lived?"  
He sat up on the bed, and looked out of the window. With worries about what his future might bring him, things may show that he could be better off dead. But tomorrow... may be just another day.

* * *

The next day followed, and a bright light started to shine down on the streets. Right there, all the siblings minus Tiko were seen standing outside a white building decorated with rounded bushes and deep blue window frames.  
"There she is", beamed Deksta. "Our future home."  
Hallie started to show a more hesitant look. "This looks a bit... you know... empty... but at least it should do until we get a real home."  
"I don't know", sighed Neo.  
"What do you mean you don't blinkin' know?" said Lio as he turned to him. "Look - last night when we were looking for those sort of places, you said that this is the only place in town that we can get into."  
"More like the ONLY orphanage in town..."  
Hallie made her way between the two brothers, looking closer towards their impatient expressions. "Take it easy, guys - we'll be in there faster than you can say... faster than you can say..." she sighed with a dumbstruck look. "Forget it!"

* * *

In the reception lounge, Tiko was seen in conversation with a man with sleek brown hair and a rounded face. Due to how he managed to groom himself, he would have been the type to groom himself 34 times an hour.  
"What do you mean I can't come in?" Tiko asked him.  
"Look - the only way you guys can come in is to wait for someone to come out", he said in a calm British accent.  
"How old is the oldest?"  
"They all range from birth to 40."  
Tiko's expression suddenly started to become more desperate. "But we need a place to live! We had to move out, and we need shelter so badly!"  
"Since you put it that way, I can offer you a place-"  
"YES!" Tiko interrupted with a rash tone.  
"-In 2 weeks' time", the man finished.  
"2 WEEKS' TIME?" Tiko gasped. "But... we'll be all dead by then!"  
"If that's the case, enjoy life while you can, unless you have $100 per person."  
Tiko turned his trouser pockets inside out, revealing a 50 dollar bill on one side and three single dollar ones in the other. "But all I've got here is $53..."  
"So if you're so poor, then I guess you should leave", leered the figure.  
"But..." he then growled angrily before making his way towards the door. "Damn you!"  
And so he slammed the door, causing a blue vase to fall from a shelf from above, shattering as it reached the floor. That caused the man to show an angry look about him.

* * *

The sight of Tiko making his way outside caused his siblings to look on at them with hope upon their eyes. But it wasn't long until he sat on a nearby step that they understood that something wrong happened.  
"Sorry guys", he sighed, "but unless we have $500 there is no way we can go in. It's my fault for picking the wrong home..."  
"No it's not", sympathised Deksta. "Neo said that it's the only homeless shelter in town, so it's not YOUR fault - it's mine. I wish I didn't get fired... then we'll still be home."  
"Take it all back", replied Hallie as she folded her arms. "It's my fault for failing all of my final exams..."  
Within the quarreling, Lio brought up his hands and instantly silenced his siblings. "None of you guys sent us into this deadly situation! What I'm trying to mean is that... IT'S ALL NEO'S FAULT!"  
"Huh?" he blinked with a shocked expression.  
"You tend to give us advice", started Lio. "Now you lead us to our downfall and you've given the Cortex family a bad name!"  
"But I was just trying to help", he shreiked innocently.  
"Help schmelp", he growled. "KILL HIM!"  
Neo tried to dash away from his troubled siblings, but Lio approached him with some ooze, sticking him down onto the floor. Then Hallie drew out a whip and started pinning him down with it. Next, Deksta got a buzzer from out of her backpack and shocked him unconscious. Finally, Tiko came running and kicked him into a nearby river, drifting downstream.  
"So long, kid!" Tiko vilely laughed towards his brother. "It's been NASTY knowing you!"  
The rest of the crew laughed, before they all left from the river bank. That just left a trail of bubbles to form downstream, with each of them getting smaller and smaller in size.

* * *

That night, the progression of the bubbles continued through towards an underground area of the river. Brick walls were seen forming a dome-like ceiling, and inside that area a crocodile was seen sitting on the banks of the tunnel, fishing and singing to himself.  
"We-e-e-eeeeeeeell, well it's the Big Show", he sang to himself in a fake Texas accent, before his line started to shake. "What the..."  
Upon that reaction, he took a hold of the reel and started turning it, pulling the hook out from under the water and catching a hold on a brown coat. He looked to the surface, and saw Neo floating alongside it, his head lucky to be floating above the surface.  
"A boy?" he blinked. "Crikey..."  
He brought out his hands, helped him onto the bank and put him near a nearby campfire. Then there was a slight revival - both eyes opened slightly slowly, and he managed to sit up.  
"Excuse me sir..." he spoke in a faint tone.  
"Sir?" The crocodile blinked, before looking back at Neo. "Oh! I'm glad to see you alive and well!"  
"I would like to thank you for saving my life, Mister..." He paused, trying to get the words out of his mouth. "Mister..."  
"The name's Gator. Snappy Gator", the crocodile replied casually.  
"Hi. I'm Neo Cortex."  
It wasn't long until they both brought themselves into a brief handshake - the touch of Snappy's scaly hands soon started to feel a chilling tone upon the warmer flesh-based areas of Neo's.  
"You seem pretty lucky", gasped the crocodile. "How did you get in there?"  
"It's a long story!"  
"I've got time", Snappy chuckled.  
And so that left Neo to re-tell of the events that happened prior to the abuse. All that left Snappy to do was to look on at his partner with shock upon him. It wasn't long until he reached the part when Deksta fried him with her buzzer.  
"And after the shock I never knew anything", he frowned.  
"Maybe you were pushed into the river or something", said Snappy with an eye-twitch.  
"You could be right..." Neo started, but paused. "But no matter what, I must - earn - revenge...!"  
His looks showed a more vicious tone around them. During that time, he tried to stand up, only to see him fall back onto his knees in the process, looking heavily weakened.  
"Stay down", Snappy advised. "If you want to fight your own siblings, then you have another thing coming."  
"But Snappy!" Neo cried out to him.  
"We need you to regain strength", he smiled while putting over a patchwork quilt over Neo's body. "If you want to fight your brothers, then I guess you need full energy for it."  
"Good point", he yawned lightly. "I'm hoping to kill them off with a bang", he smiled viciously as he laid down and closed his eyes. "The harder the better..."  
Snappy couldn't help but chuckle lightly to himself, before looking onto the water surface, his reflection showing upon the surface. "Just you think - he'll be exterminated, just you wait and see. And that's the bottom line 'cause Snappy Gator says so."  
A bright light shone through one of the bricks in the ceiling, showing only a small part of the night sky. Showing them both in the spotlight, they now know... that a new friendship is about to develop.

* * *

Several hours passed, and it was there that the sun started to rise above the skyscrapers. During that time, a few footsteps were heard nearby.  
"Come on Hallie - Kill her!"  
On the ground below, both Deksta and Hallie were seen fighting against a female wolverine with a cub in its mouth. With great speed and agility, she evaded the attacks from Hallie's whip.  
"I can't do it... she's too fast!"  
Deksta gave out an angry sigh. "Let me sort it out!"  
She got her pistol out and started firing towards the wolverine, which still evades the attack, but is also getting tired out. The battle continues towards a river...  
"OK, so if you're slightly better, how about you send her to oblivion", Hallie growled towards her sister.  
"Let me rephrase that", said Deksta as she stuck her hand out in front of her. "How about we BOTH send her to oblivion!"  
"Hey - yeah!"  
Hallie charged in with the whip at one side and Deksta had her buzzer at the other. Then they both attacked at the same time and sent her and the cub flying into the river.  
"Ha!" Deksta started to smirk towards it. "Serves ya right for picking a fight with us!"

* * *

Meanwhile, within the underground area of the river, Neo and Snappy were seen on the banks of the sewer suite, fishing together.  
"I know why you do this activity, just for getting food, but…" Neo paused, "Fishing - in a sewer? You're kidding, right?"  
"It's a way of life", replied Snappy. "Get used to it."  
"But how can I get used to it when what we'll get at the end of our rods is nothing but toxic sludge?"  
"That's when you're wrong", the alligator winked.  
"What are you meaning by-" His speaking was soon interrupted by a vibration on his fishing rod. "Hang on - my line... it's shaking..."  
"Told ya you can catch something down here! Reel it in!"  
And so he did, bringing the line up as far as he could go. And there, he pulled out the wolverine cub, causing him to scream.  
"HOLY COW!!!" Snappy exclaimed with widened eyes.  
"I hope he's still alive", Neo said while pulling the cub off the hook.  
Snappy then sighed. "If there's any way that that cub could come down here he might have been tossed in here."  
"Good thought."  
As they spoke, the cub started to regain consciousness. Opening both eyes, the first thing it saw was Snappy.  
"Take it easy, little fella", smiled Snappy. "We won't bite!"  
At the very sight of him, the cub brought out his mouth and bit Snappy hard on the finger before he started crying.  
"OW!!!!!!!" Snappy exclaimed as he kissed his finger. "MY PINKIE!!!!!!!"  
"There's no need to worry about that now - this cub here needs sorting out", smiled Neo as he brought the cub into his own arms. "Take it easy - everything's gonna be alright..."  
At the sound of his words, the cub jumped down onto the banks of the sewer and started performing a series of actions.  
"What's he doing - playing Taboo?" Snappy asked.  
Neo growled before punching him in the chest with a playful force. "Look - he's in desperate need, like we all are." He then turned to the cub. "Could you repeat that more slowly, please?"  
The cub nodded, before it started to perform its actions one by one. First, he rolled upon the floor and played dead.  
"Someone's killed", frowned Neo. "Who did it?"  
The cub then stood back on both feet, and placed his head fur into a small ponytail at the back of his head.  
"Looks like a girl killed him", shrugged Snappy.  
Finally, he picked a rag off the floor, put it on like a dress and pretended to clean the place up like a regular housewife.  
"It's not him - her!" Neo's eyes widened. "Some girl killed his mother!"  
"I know - it's Debbie Harry!"  
"Get real", Neo sighed as he punched Snappy again.  
The cub started bouncing up and down, with anxiety and tears in the eyes. He then landed on all fours, looking on at Neo with large expressive eyes.  
"I don't know if I'm much help, but..." He then went inside his backpack and pulled out a small photo album. "The only two girls I know in which would dare to do that", he said as he turned to a photo of Hallie and Deksta, "are my sisters..."  
At the very sight of the pair together, the cub growled madly, took the photo out and destroyed it by tearing it.  
"Looks like we found the culprits", he blinked.  
"And a double act!" Snappy exclaimed. "Now is not only a good time to get revenge on killing his mama, but it's also a good time to get revenge on what they did to you last night!"  
"That was exactly what I was thinking!" Neo brought his attention to the cub. "Thanks for telling us that... er... what's your name?"  
The cub looked on at Neo with a blank expression, but… that was before he sat down and gave out a shrug with his front paws.  
"He doesn't have one", blinked Snappy.  
"If that's the case, we'll give him one!"  
They both look around the cub to see if they can find a suitable name. One thing that did catch their eye is the brittle boron chain around his neck.  
"I've a good idea", smiled Neo. "How about we call him Boron."  
The cub gave out a light smile, before looking onto its chain. By then various crumbs of it started to drop down to the floor.  
"Looks like he likes it", Snappy grinned.  
"And it looks like we're going to give in a taste of Tiko's medicine! Come on - let's go!"  
The trio left the sewers towards the busy streets of the city at Rush Hour. After dodging a series of cars, they managed to make it into the most dangerous back streets they have ever seem to come across.  
"Take it easy", said Neo as he petted Boron, whom was seen whimpering. "Not everything lasts forever..."  
"Aw, come on - can't you think of anything else?" Snappy growled.  
"What do you mean?"  
"Look - there has to be another way to keep him quiet!"  
"Like, what does it look like - Me putting him to sleep?"  
"Not really, but you get the picture..."  
While both Neo and Snappy spoke to one another, Boron paid attention to their conversation, giggling every now and again.  
"What do you think you're laughin' at?" Snappy growled at him.  
He didn't respond. Instead, he continued to laugh, trying to cover his more cheery facial expression as he did so.  
"I'll soon find out", Snappy said as he pulled out some boxing gloves from out of nowhere and placed them upon his hands. "I'm gonna bop you one, kid..."  
He charged towards the cub, but Boron managed to step out of the way. By that case, Snappy missed and tripped up into some trash cans.  
"Snappy", Neo shouted as he went within the trash cans, pulling Snappy out. "Are you alright?"  
"I'm gonna kid you one, bop", Snappy said dizzily before he collapsed on the ground.  
"Darn", Neo sighed before looking down at the ground, his eyes widening. "Hang on..."  
Boron rushed up to him, while Snappy slowly got back on his feet, rubbing his back as he did so.  
"Ouch", he said painfully before looking on at Neo. "What have you found this time?"  
"It's some sort of footprint."  
"Oh yeah... any old footprint", the alligator said with a growl. "That won't lead us anywhere!"  
"Are you sure, because I think I can recognize the trainer pattern, the humongous size and the brand anywhere."  
"They can be anyone's shoes!" the alligator continued to growl.  
"And look! The culprit left the trail through there", Neo smiled as he pointed towards a broken wooden fence.  
"Are you sure it's your girls?" Snappy asked, before leering towards Neo. "Or is it someone who ran away from home?"  
"I didn't run away!"  
While they spoke, Boron started growling at the footprint and started following the trail in an instant. Snappy's eyes widened at his actions.  
"I guess you're right..."  
"See?" Neo chuckled before facing Boron. "Hey, wait for us! You don't know the way around these back streets..."  
And so Neo and Snappy started following Boron along the footprint trail, ready to see what was coming into their viewpoint.

* * *

Several minutes later, the gang were in the darkest parts of the streets, with towering buildings causing large shadows upon the muddy ground, narrow pathways around them and more trash cans either standing up or lying on the floor.  
"Creepy", blinked Neo at the sight of his surroundings.  
"You can say that again", Snappy sighed.  
Neo started to repeat himself. "Creep-"  
Before he could say anything else, he was then given a sudden electric shock and started squealing. After the shock, he didn't look too healthy...  
"Are you all right, kid?" Snappy asked with wide eyes.  
"Never felt better", Neo said with a dizzy tone before collapsing on the ground.  
At the sight of those actions, Boron started growling madly before looking around with a brisk pace upon him.  
"So... you want to take us on, eh?" scowled a voice from the darkness.  
"Look - I don't know who you are, but..." Snappy sighed angrily. "THIS IS GONNA GET REALLY UGLY!"  
The person with the voice came out of the darkness, revealing herself as Deksta. Upon that sight, Boron started barking right at her.  
"What do you think you're playing at?" she asked the alligator.  
"Er... Tiddlywinks?"  
After that response, Boron brought out his claws from his front paws and scratched Snappy on the foot.  
"THAT HURT!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he screamed out with pain.  
Deksta gave out a sadistic laugh. "Come on out and take care of these challengers!"  
The other siblings came out from out of the trashcans. Upon that, Boron barked even madder at Hallie.  
"Take it easy", Snappy said with a more panicked expression.  
Boron, however, didn't take notice of his speech. For that instance, he immediately dashed straight towards them.  
"We're dead", Snappy frowned. "The cub doesn't stand a chance!"  
But to some surprise, he jumped straight up into the air, and used his paws to knock all four of the siblings into the sky!  
"That cub's got power", screamed Hallie.  
"At least we've learnt one lesson", gasped Deksta. "Never mess with a mother and its baby again!"  
"Any ideas for next time?" Lio asked the group.  
"I have one, but I'll explain it when we come down!" exclaimed Tiko as his face was faded away.  
They ended up further away from the scene, all the way towards the other side of the city, where their bodies vanish with a sparkle in the sky.  
"WOW!" Snappy exclaimed towards Boron. "You were amazing!"  
Boron started dashing again, this time towards Neo. Once there, he started licking him on the face...  
"Hey... stop... cut it out!" Neo laughed in a ticklish tone. "Great job!"  
Boron smiled and gave out a light scream from his mouth, before jumping up in the air and giving out a backwards somersault.  
"Well, now that those guys are gone, I guess we can rest easy", nodded Snappy.  
"But I bet THEY will be out for revenge next", Neo sighed.  
"So how come we fought them, then?"  
"If we didn't fight them, then they'll try and take over the city… or something."  
"I should have known... a very close call!" Snappy said while rolling his eyes. "Oh well... how about we go for a bit of R and R until they next mess with us?"  
The gang headed back where they came towards the sewers, where they were left alone from civilization for a brief amount of time.

-end of part 1-


	2. Enter Nitrus Brio

Nearly 24 hours passed, and at that stage, Neo and Boron were starting to get adapted to their way of life, even if they did fail to get the wrong end of the fishing rod a few times. But no matter what happened, they knew that it was better there than out in the streets in Neo's case or in the wilderness alone in Boron's case. In that time another piece of danger came to them. The sun was only just coming over the horizon, yet Neo was seen in the back streets searching through the trash cans for food...  
"Tragedy, when the feeling's gone and you can't go wrong it's tragedy", Neo sang to himself before his eyes suddenly widened from his position. "What the..."  
Right there, there was a peculiar looking item in the trash. As he pulled it out, he became more curious...  
"Barbwire?" He gasped at the sight of it. "I don't get it."  
As he tugged it out of the trash, he ended up knocking a few trash cans over and seeing a trail of the wire leading further into the city.  
"And who would want to do something like that?"  
He started following it through the city - through the heavy road traffic, along the streets, through a music concert (!) and through the backstage door, where he saw a nasty surprise...  
Neo then gave out a gasp. "Someone's gonna kill me - or to make things worse... THE WHOLE CITY!!"  
Right in front of him was a bomb. He walked right towards it and saw a handwritten message saying, "Your days are numbered" and the timer was on 10 minutes.  
"I can recognize that handwriting anywhere", he panicked. "The others MUST know about this!"  
And he headed back through the music concert, pushing his way through the crowds as he did so. During that occasion, he stole a nearby hippie's camera and used it to take a picture of the performers.  
"Clear and perfect!" he said before tossing the camera back towards the hippie.  
"Thank you!"  
He soon made his way back onto the streets and onto the roads, where he climbed back into the sewers.

* * *

Meanwhile, near the underground river, Snappy was seen there teaching Boron how to catch fish.  
"And you put the sinker there", Snappy said as he placed it underneath the hook. He then turned towards the wolverine. "Are you paying attention?"  
"YEAH! YEAH!" Boron exclaimed while jumping.  
"Well put the sinker there, then!"  
As Snappy turned his back, Boron looked confused and scratched his head, before showing wide expression-filled eyes. His confusion was soon broken by… a set of footsteps from the other side.  
"GUYS!"  
Snappy gasped at the voice. "Wow - have you caught a deer in those trashcans?"  
Soon enough, Neo arrived where Snappy and Boron were, and once there he made a sudden stop and gasped for breath.  
"Bad news", he continued to gasp. "We're nearly dead meat...!"  
"Take it easy, Cortie", nodded Snappy.  
"Cortie..." Neo gave off a more ambitious smile. "I like the sound of that! Anyway, back to business. I found this bomb in the back allies, and I can see that Tiko has threatened to destroy everyone and everything in the city!"  
Snappy gasped, with Boron screaming next to him. "YOU WHAT?!?"  
"Come on - we don't have time to lose!"  
Snappy gave off a devious smile. "We're right behind you!"  
The gang dashed out of the sewers towards the bomb - and that meant going through the traffic, and through the music concert.  
"That's my cousin!" Neo said while pointing at a girl in the audience.  
Snappy pointed over to a blonde singer on stage. "That's my idol!"  
They soon made their way out backstage, where they managed to walk their way straight back to the bomb.  
"So", Snappy smiled, "this is where the trail ends."  
"And here's where the trouble begins!" a voice was heard.  
That sound caused all three of them to turn around ambitiously. Within the pack, Boron screamed and took cover behind Neo's legs.  
"Who said that?" Snappy asked with a loud voice.  
"I know that voice", Neo responded quietly to himself.  
And yet he did - Tiko jumped out of the shadows with his siblings, all of them having cruel smiles on their faces.  
"I've got one question for you - why do you want to destroy your hometown?" Neo asked his siblings with anger.  
"The people in this city are dumb nuts, like you guys are!" Tiko growled.  
"Look - not all people are 'dumb nuts'", said Snappy in a calm voice. "There's a rock band having a concert in the building next to you!"  
"They're pathetic", Lio said while rolling his eyes.  
Neo growled towards Snappy, with Boron following with a sigh behind him. "Why did you say that?"  
"Er... because I think they're good people."  
"Moving on to the bomb behind you", said Tiko with his voice being raised, "I bet you can never escape its blast in 2 minutes, when it goes off!"  
Neo gave out a gasp. "That's it! Boron, try and disable the bomb..." He looked around. And yet, he wasn't there. "Boron?"  
He soon looked behind him, and it was there that Boron was seen cowering and shaking behind a trashcan.  
"OK", he sighed before turning to Snappy. "How about YOU disabling the bomb?"  
"I'll try!"  
"Oh no you won't, scale face!" Deksta scowled towards him.  
In an instant, she performed a high jump and when she landed she pinned Snappy onto the floor.  
"Look - no girl messes with him!" shouted Neo as he clutched his fists.  
"May I advise you to GIVE IT UP?" Tiko shouted to him. "You've got 90 seconds on the clock, and it takes 20 to reset the bomb!"  
Neo then sighed angrily. "Snappy! Kick out!"  
Snappy kicked Deksta in the groin and rolled to one side. Then he charged into her, knocking her onto the backstage door.  
"Ouch..."  
Snappy gave out a cackle. "The bomb's mine!"  
But as he was about to reset it, Hallie attacked him with the whip, knocking him down to the floor...  
"OI!" Neo shouted back. "No girl picks with him! Come here..."  
But sooner enough, Boron leapt out from behind the trashcans and charged her into Deksta. After the attack, he was panting like mad and growling angrily.  
While that happened, Neo helped Snappy back onto both feet. "Are you all right?"  
"Just a muscle stretch, but it's nothing personal."  
"I am warning you guys that the bomb will go off in 45 seconds, so you'd best be quick!" Tiko scowled towards the others.  
"Yeah, like, as quick as the fact that I will do this to you right now", Snappy scowled as he brought back one of his fists.  
He then tried to punch Tiko, but… he ran out of the way, causing the gator's aim to strike Lio and hit him over towards the girls.  
"Why did you do that?" Neo asked Snappy.  
"At least it's better than nothin'."  
Tiko then responded with another sinister laugh. "You have 30 seconds to escape from the blast..."  
"Blast? What blast?" Neo said with a smirk. "I bet you'll never see it!"  
"Well, what WOULD I be seeing?"  
"You'll be seeing stars!" Snappy said as he stepped in front of the others. "Get here, guys!"  
The others came towards Snappy and performed a triple (as proposed to double) team attack on Tiko, sending him towards his other siblings. Then Boron came in with another tackle and blasted them into the sky.  
"At least they're doomed for sure!" Hallie screamed.  
"How much time left?" Deksta asked while bringing her focus to her brothers.  
"15 seconds!" Tiko responded.  
"Seems like we're the lucky ones here", cheered Lio as his voice faded out.  
And as the voice faded out, they were flown clear over the horizon, leaving a white comet-like trail to fall across the sky.  
"And stay away from us, you good-for-nothing-excuse-for-a-big-brother!" Neo growled towards the skies.  
"Yeah, but please take note of the little amount of time on the bomb", frowned Snappy.  
"What?"  
"The timer says that there's 10 seconds left!"  
Neo panicked. "But what are we going to do about the other people? And the music band?"  
"They must have finished about a few minutes ago, so they might have gone by the time those siblings were gone", Snappy broadly smiled. "Now there's 5 seconds left on the clock - what do you want to do - risk your life to save others and if we're dead we leave Tiko to take over the world, or escape it while leaving thousands of others killed?"  
"And it only takes 20 to deactivate it", thought Neo. "I think we should..."

* * *

As the bomb exploded, our heroes were seen running for their life and after reaching a cactus about 200 metres from the city, the explosion stopped.  
Neo gave out a light sigh. "I guess this is a case of paradise lost."  
"Yeah", frowned Snappy. "I sure hope the people managed to get out of there."  
In the background, Boron howled with sadness before walking his way right behind Neo once again.  
"Take it easy, kid", Snappy said as he stroked Boron's back from his position. "We'll find a new home, somehow."  
"And we also need to get our own back on Tiko for what he did!" Neo started to curse.  
"Keep your cool, Cortie..."  
"I can't keep my cool! What if he comes with an unexpected surprise?"  
Snappy then sighed sadly. "I guess you're right, and I guess we're gonna have to check all of the states."  
"Why ALL of the states?" Neo asked.  
"Because we never know what will happen."  
"Fine", Neo sighed while picking up Boron. "Looks like we're heading towards a new triumph here... or is it a tragedy?"  
And so, the gang was seen leaving the ashes of the city and started heading towards the west. A dark and treacherous journey awaited them.

* * *

Four whole years passed and the three of them continued their long and struggling walk across the United States. Their figures suddenly started to change, but nothing much can be really seen through the desert sun. It wasn't long until they emerged into the quaint little town of Artesia in New Mexico and went inside a run-down hotel. The place seemed nearly empty. The only two people in there were the manager, who's looking for something, and an employee scrubbing floors. They reached the centre of the room, and we now see a more sophisticated group than before, with Snappy looking as sick as heck.  
"Hang in there Snappy", Neo said to him while maintaining a deeper teenaged voice. "We'll find somewhere", he smiled while walking towards the counter.  
"Welcome to the Blanco hotel, the only White House you'll be seeing around New Mexico and the one hotel in town", the manager chuckled as he rushed to the counter. "How may I help you?"  
"I'm hoping to get a room that's suitable for 3, please."  
"OK, looks like I'll leave the Turkish delights aside", the manager shrugged as he started searching through the drawers for something else. "As I find the guest book, how about you tell me who you guys are..."  
"We're a batch of travelers", Neo started. "We've been homeless for four years now and I'm on the search for-"  
"Not your profile - your names!" the manager shouted with a high pitch.  
"Oh... sorry", he smiled sheepishly. "I'm Neo Cortex", he blinked as he pointed outside. "The sick lizard is Snappy Gator..."  
"Hi", the alligator responded weakly. "Sorry, I've got a stomach bug", he said before coughing out a butterfly.  
"And this here is..." Neo looked around the room, only to see… a near empty space. "Where is he?"  
While that happened, a dark shadow was seen approaching a tropical plant next to a door saying "Private". After a slight bit of time, the monster jumped onto it and chewed it to bits...  
"HANDS OFF!" exclaimed the employee with a high pitch.  
"What the..." Neo gasped towards the shadow. "Boron!"  
The beast turned around, showing himself as Boron, only this time he was seen dressed in a rag-like waistcoat and denim shorts, with knee pads upon his legs. And it was there that if he stood up on two legs, his head would level up towards Neo's belly.  
"You got a problem with that?" the employee gestured towards Neo and Boron.  
"Not really", shrugged Neo. "I often lose track of him."  
"You should be a bit more careful."  
"I know", he sighed. "I just don't feel responsible for him. And besides, he won't bite", he smiled towards the employee.  
Boron nodded and hugged the employee gently, bringing his arms around his back and giving off a peaceful smile like that.  
"See?" chuckled Neo. "He's as cute as a teddy bear!"  
"Well, I guess you could be right about that..."  
"It's a pleasure meeting up with you", Neo responded back with an innocent look.  
"And before you call out your name, I heard it from the counter."  
"Oh!" Neo exclaimed with a light laugh.  
"It's all right", the employee calmly spoke back. "The name's Nitrus Brio, and I've been an employee here for... let's say... around... let's just call it 'since I was 3'."  
Neo then gasped. "But... how..."  
"If I've time I'll explain it to you."  
"Excuse me Mr. Cortex", the manager shouted from the counter, "but we've got a problem here!"  
"Hang on", Neo smiled. "I'll be back." He then rushed towards the counter. "What's wrong?"  
"According to the guest book, the hotel is completely full", the manager frowned.  
"But we've been traveling for months now!" Neo shouted before turning back to Snappy. "How many months?"  
"Around 50 now", said his faint voice from the door.  
"I can see how tired you guys are, so I'll let you stay with one of the employees."  
Brio raised his face towards his direction and smiled gently. "I'll be happy to let them stay with me if you want, sir!"  
"Go ahead."  
"And ever since Snappy doesn't feel too good, do you have any medical care?" Neo asked the manager. "Oh, and a set of directions for Brio's home."  
"You just turn right and it's the house on the end of the street", Brio responded back. "And there a fine range of medicines and treatments in the health centre/pharmacy next door."  
"Thanks", Neo smiled before taking a hold on Boron and Snappy before dashing out of the building. "Come on guys - let's make ourselves at home!"  
"Have fun while you can!" the manager waved back. He then paused. "Are they gone?" He paused again. "Thank goodness... they don't really look friendly and thank goodness I didn't let them stay in my beautiful hotel!"  
"They were nice guys to me", Brio nodded. "They could help me out in the big race tomorrow! And besides, that's the seventh set of people that you refused to send in this month! What's wrong with you?"  
"I don't want anyone to win the sweepstakes other than last year's champion, and I don't want travelers stealing the title from him!"  
"You what?" Brio growled at him. "I just can't believe I trusted you... You've been fussy since the start of it all!" he shouted before leaving the building.  
"OK, so you've lost an 'employee'", whimpered the manager. "Don't panic... don't panic..."  
Various people were seen walking outside the hotel, and from there, an ear-piercing scream can be heard, leaving the citizens to panic and rush back the way the came.

* * *

Brio's house was set more like a slum-based home - it in itself looked like it needed repair, and everyone was on the floor sitting in a circle, except for Snappy, who was lying down on an old mattress.  
"So how's your life over here?" Neo asked Brio.  
"Terrible."  
"What do you mean? You have everything you want - sun, smiles, style..."  
"And slavery", Brio frowned.  
"Huh?" Boron's eyes widened, with his ears pricking up with them.  
"To be honest I am a "slave" at the Blanco hotel", Brio then frowned.  
"A slave?" Neo asked with a shocked tone. "For about 20 years of your life?"  
"You could be right with the lifespan. Since I was 8 I wanted to get out of this place. It was horrible!"  
"No wonder the ceiling's under repair", Snappy said while looking up.  
While that happened, Neo sent out a more powerful punch, bringing him up towards the ceiling, getting his head stuck. "Next time it would be to the Mississippi and beyond!" He turned back to Brio. "Is there any way of earning freedom?"  
"The only way I can is to win the Artesia Sweepstakes, the next one happening tomorrow."  
"Well how about you try a little harder?" Neo smiled towards him.  
"I tried, but I always lose out to the 20-time champion here, to be 21 tomorrow", he frowned.  
"Have you tried better machines?" Neo asked him.  
"Not machines - animals!" exclaimed Brio. "We have to be jockeys in the race! Think of it like a horseracing derby, but a lot different. Even I tried a cheetah last year, but we went through the course all the way through at the wrong speed, and I crashed in a cactus near the end. I need big help here..."  
"How about Boron? He's good!" he said while gesturing to the wolverine, whom was seen barking in his place.  
"And don't forget the old Mr. Crocodile Shoes!" said Snappy as he cautiously brought himself back onto the mattress.  
"Thanks guys!" Brio smiled while looking onto the scene around him. "I feel chirpier now..."  
Immediately after he spoke, the doors opened, sending in a strong gust. Then through the doors came a ginger cat wearing Texas clothing, complete with a blue eye and a green eye.  
"Trigger!" Brio gasped towards the figure.  
"Well well well, if it isn't the second-place loser 10 times in a row", he started laughing towards him. "I very much doubt you'll beat me this year - you don't have the guts for it!"  
While he spoke, Brio's overall appearance started to change. His brown eyes slowly started to turn a deeper red, and an eerie green glow surrounded his body.  
"And besides, you're just a dumb-ass dork!" the cat finished.  
"You will be dead meat", Brio growled towards him.  
Bizarrely, he morphed himself into a green beast. Giving out a roar, he then stared angrily at Trigger...  
"Take it easy now - I'm not dog food!"  
Then he charged him straight into a nearby water trough, leaving him wet from his head down to his toes.  
"I'll be back, pipsqueak!" the cat cursed. "You are gonna be thrashed come tomorrow!" And then, he left.  
Neo's expression showed shock. "That monster..."  
During that time, Brio morphed back to his regular form and collapsed upon the ground. That left Neo's expression to show shock.  
"Oh God, all this has made me sick", Snappy panicked before burrowing his head inside the mattress.  
"You OK?" Neo asked as he went over Brio.  
"Wha..." he lightly opened his eyes, showing them in their regular brown color. "What happened?"  
"You got morphed into a werewolf-thing."  
"A werewolf-thing? Oh, not again", Brio frowned as he sat up. "I've had this problem since I was born. Maybe I ate something radioactive or something... but I'm not sure."  
"Maybe you should kick the kitty's butt out of town like that and then you'll earn your freedom easier", smiled Snappy from his position.  
"It's my incarnation's decision, not mine", Brio continued to frown.  
"I wonder where can I find radioactive trash", Snappy smiled. "Maybe I can turn into a kick-ass monster too!!!"  
Again, Neo went to Snappy and pushed him back towards the ceiling, jamming his head deeper within it. "That's a stupid idea - you could get amnesia from that!"  
"I know that", Snappy responded back with a faint voice.  
"Anyway, back to business", smiled Neo while turning towards Brio. "I'm thinking of helping you out in the sweepstakes!"  
"You would? Excellent! Thanks a lot!"  
"One problem - where do you sign up?"  
"You sign up on a banner round the back of the hotel", Brio smiled back.  
"Thanks a million!" Neo smiled before heading towards the door. "Boron, are you coming with me?"  
Boron dashes out and it was there that the two left the block in no time. That left Brio sitting on the mattress, thinking about their decisions.  
"Those two have good spirits", Brio smiled peacefully. "I've got hope in my heart right now..."  
His thoughts were soon broken by the sound of a crack, with Snappy falling from the ceiling and landing on top of Brio. "TIMBER!"  
"Ouch."

* * *

The following day soon arrived, and at this stage the stadium was packed full of spectators from everywhere and 10 racers with animals fill the starting grid. At one corner of the stands was a commentator's box, with two commentators - one of them look like an elderly man with a youthful voice for his age, while the other one was a normal man in a ten galleon hat.  
"Hello and welcome to the Artesia Sweepstakes, where we see carnage with 10 racers in front of 2000 spectators!" the first commentator smiled.  
The spectators cheered on in the background, giving off a mixture of chants and whistles to be heard for miles.  
"Let's hope we have the same carnage as last year - this is what this race is known for!" the second commentator cackled.  
"We very well shall do, as the bookies have been going mad overnight!" replied the first. "Do you know about any big bets?"  
"I know about the biggest bet, that's for sure. In column 1 we have Trigger Tortoiseshell, the course champion for 20 years in a row, betted at 2-1! Can he make it 21 today with Breakneck the cheetah?"  
Half of the spectators cheered wildly. The other half seemed to either remain silent, or attempted to throw tomatoes at him.  
"Like, for over half of his winning streak", started the second commentator, "he's been having serious competition from Nitrus Brio, a slave from the Blanco hotel, over at column 5, betted at 10-1 with his alligator Snappy."  
"I hope he does better than last time's cheetah imitation route", blinked the first.  
"Let's hope so!"  
"Also we have a highly popular last minute entry on our hands!"  
"Really?" the second commentator asked.  
"Yep. Enter Florida teenager Neo Cortex and his wolverine Boron at column 4, betted at 5-1. That's impressive for a newcomer!"  
"Oh yeah! Like, he must have had experience somewhere!"  
"But will it be enough to take on the might of Trigger?" the first commentator asked as he shifted his eyes. "Let's find out as this race goes underway!"  
The crowd cheered on, while looking on at the scene below. Right there, most of the racers were brought onto the starting grid. And within the crowd, Trigger's expression was just as egoistic as ever.  
"I bet I can thrash you babies any day!"  
"Call us babies?" Neo asked with a short temper. "We'll show YOU babies..."  
"Dorks!"  
"You little!" Brio shouted as his eyes turned red.  
"Keep your cool, kid", Snappy said while holding onto Brio's hand. "I don't want you to lose your temper at any point during this race!"  
"I suppose you're right", he said with his eye color returning back to brown.  
"On your marks!" exclaimed a female starter.  
At the sound of the cry, the racers got into their starting positions quickly. While Neo and Trigger sat comfortably onto their animals, Brio was left to hang onto Snappy's back in a piggy-back motion as he brought himself into an athelete's starting point. And then, the starter brought out a gun and shot it into the air.  
"AAAAAAAAND THEY'RE OFF!!!!" the first commentator exclaimed. "And immediately we have Tortoiseshell going right into the lead, with Cortex being just half of a second behind, a crowd of others following them and Brio struggling behind in last place...  
The second commentator then brought himself onto both feet. "Here they come towards the first obstacle - the desert course!"  
"Mmmm... Mississippi Mud Pie!"  
"Not that kind of desert - we're meaning a hot, dry desert stretch!"  
"I should have known about that... Hang on - there's a dragon in the road!"  
Along the stretch, a small green dragon was seen walking across the road and when Trigger came along he was chased off. Then when some other racers came, it shot its flame right at a bull...  
"There goes Bruno Brown... OW!" the second commentator exclaimed with shock. "There he goes crashing right into Kevin Stone and his... sheep?"  
"He always rides a sheep over in these parts", shrugged the first.  
"No wonder... We are now down to 8 players, and they're all approaching Mount Sharp!"  
"Oh no... not Mount Sharp!"  
"Stop complaining and start yakking! I'll start by saying that they're nearly at the top..."  
Over there, Trigger and Neo slid down the slopes successfully and sooner enough, another rider came.  
"Here comes Spike Robinson with his hedgehog", smiled the first commentator. "I don't know how he can get used to it!"  
"It's all about experience..." the second commentator then gasped. "OH MY GOSH! The hedgehog has drilled a wall through the mountain! It's coming out the other side...!"  
The hedgehog ran straight into a female jockey and an eagle, taking them both off course together.  
"Woah... there goes Sadie McGraw!" the first commentator exclaimed towards the other. "We are now down to 6 players!"  
"Here we go in the second half of the course, with 6 players left in this order - Trigger Tortoiseshell, Neo Cortex, Scott Cacti, Marina Ice, Pedro Macintosh and Nitrus Brio. Will it all change?"  
"Let's find out!"  
"Here comes Trigger coming towards the next obstacle..."  
"You mean the Lake Cross?"  
Trigger leapt across the platforms across the lake with great speed and care, grabbing hold on his cheetah as tight as his hands can take him.  
"There goes the first player across - who will be next to take it on?" the first commentator asked the other.  
"Here comes Cortex!"  
On the track itself, Neo managed to bring Boron straight towards the lake, with a determined look upon him.  
"ADELANTE!"  
Boron then screamed happily, before he managed to make his jump straight towards the first platform on the water.  
"Take it easy - if we're out, then I guess Trigger's gonna put us under slave work here, if that's what he did to Brio!"  
Boron screamed and then hopped across the platforms faster than Trigger did when he approached it.  
"Talk about considerable speed", shrieked the first commentator. "This has cut the distance between him and Trigger by 2 seconds!"  
"Here come Cacti, Ice and Macintosh battling it out for bronze here - Cacti on an overgrown gecko, Ice on a walrus and Macintosh on a horse", the second commentator lightly smirked.  
All three of them jumped into the water at the same time, but only Marina and her walrus surfaced... and jumped back to shore!  
"Looks like those three are out - 2 sinkers and a scared seal", blinked the first commentator with shock.  
The second commentator gave out a growl. "I just said it's a walrus, not a seal!"  
"Oh..." The first one then gasped as he looked on ahead of him. "Here comes Brio - Gone in the water again... Oh... he's gone swimmingly great here!"  
In the water itself, Snappy was seen swimming across the lake with Brio on his back in a crawling position.  
"Wow - good work, Snappy - How did you do that?"  
"I've been experienced at that since I was 8 - so there!" he smiled towards him.  
"Hey - don't be rude... and anyhow... FULL SPEED AHEAD!"  
Snappy sped across the lake and as soon as he surfaced, he dashed as far as he could and caught up with Trigger and Neo.  
"There's a race here for first place!" the first commentator gasped while turning to his partner. "Who knows who will win?"  
"No one does, as far as I know."  
Trigger started sending his cheetah to push into his opposition, who also started pushing into him.  
"This is going like chaos!" the first commentator shrieked. "The remaining three racers are on a heavy strike here!"  
Then Breakneck pushed Brio off Snappy, who started hanging onto his red belt as hard as he could.  
"CRIKEY!" the second commentator shouted. "Brio's on his last stand here... or is he?"  
Then Brio glowed and transformed into the beast in no time at all. Then he released his grip on Snappy and charged into Boron, sending Neo flying onto his back...  
"OW!" Neo exclaimed. "What was that for?"  
The beast gave in a loud roar at him, causing his hair to end up blowing much more violently within the wind.  
"OK, I'll be quiet", Neo smirked before pondering to himself. "Let's kick his furry butt back to where it should be!"  
"We've got a change of line-up here", exclaimed the first commentator from his position. "Trigger and Breakneck are versus Cortex and Brio in the final stretch!"  
Both challengers were both taking over each over in this crucial stage as the number of metres decreased - 400, 200, 100, 50... They both went over the finish.  
"Come to think of it, the results seem unclear", the first commentator gasped.  
"So right!" replied the other.  
"Let's try a slow motion tape of this crucial stage..."  
A nearby monitor started to show the last 50 metres in slow motion. Meanwhile Trigger, Neo and the Beast were here awaiting the results of the close battle.  
"I bet you're going down, like I did with Brio for the past... er... I forgot how many years", Trigger shrugged to himself.  
"I bet you'll lose to us!" growled Neo. "What DO you plan to do?"  
"The same thing I did in the past 20 years - Send in all challengers to slavery!" Trigger laughed sadistically.  
"It'll be in your dreams when that happens again - you'll see."  
While he spoke, the Beast morphed back to Brio, who collapsed onto the floor, gasping for air and looking around with his brown eyes again.  
"Are you OK?" Neo asked him.  
"What happened?" Brio said in a faint voice.  
"I'll explain later. Right now we're waiting for the results of the race."  
"The results are in - and I bet the crowd will be surprised by this result", smiled the first commentator. "This is destined to be a first!"  
"You guessed it - I'll be in the Guinness Book of Records before you know it!" Trigger snickered to himself.  
"And the winners are..." the second commentator gasped. "The superstar team of Neo Cortex and Nitrus Brio!!!!"  
The crowd went wild and from the finish line Snappy and Boron gave each other a high five in joy.  
"WE DIT IT!" Neo exclaimed with happiness while hugging Brio around his chest. "WE DID IT!"  
"Thanks", said Brio with tears of joy. "I would forever appreciate your gratitude!"  
"WHAT? I LOST?!?" Trigger scowled while cursing at Neo.  
"Stay down, kid - fame is far away from you!" Neo then sighed while punching Trigger hard enough to bring him over the horizon.  
"Hey - that really packed a punch!" the second commentator exclaimed.  
"And now that we have two winners for this year, how about we both hear their wishes?" asked the other.  
The crowd cheered on, chanting Neo's and Brio's names within the crowd as they did so, leaving them both to smile.  
"OK, let's see what they want", the second commentator smiled.  
"You go first", Brio nodded towards Neo. "My wish is a surprise for the nation."  
"Fine with me", Neo said while turning to the crowd. "Ever since I'm a tired traveler - well, I've been walking on foot for over 4 years now - I'm hoping for something a bit more... you know... technical... to tour the US."  
"Is that what you've been doing for that time?" the second commentator asked him.  
"I'm trying to track down my brother. He's trying to take over the world you know..."  
The crowd remained silent for several seconds, before looking at each other… and laughing towards one another.  
"We won't refuse the offer!" smiled the first commentator. "We'll come up with something within the next 12 hours."  
"Thanks", smiled Neo as he turned to Brio. "Send in your surprise."  
"Right", he lightly grinned back. "I demand for... My freedom!"  
The crowd gasped at his decision. Surely they saw him as a slave upon the hotel, but… how can he force himself out of those kind of rough natures?  
"But... why?" the first commentator asked.  
"My dad was the course champion before Trigger came here. When that damn cat first won 20 years ago he wanted all challengers to give up a child and die. That's where I came in."  
Most of the crowd looked on at Brio with sympathetic expressions upon their faces, before they all expressed "awww" all together.  
"Maybe you should ban this sort of thing", frowned Snappy.  
"Sorry, croc", Brio sighed. "I made my wish."  
"Well, we welcome you into the free world!" the second commentator said with a more hesitant look.  
The crowd cheered, while somewhere in there the hotel manager ranted and cursed straight at him.  
"Tell Brio's manager that he's a born dipstick!" Snappy said while sticking his tongue out from his jaw.  
Brio couldn't help but giggle from his position, before he walked straight towards Neo, holding onto his hand and raising it into the air with victory.  
"Let's hear it for Cortex and Brio!" the first commentator cheered on.  
And it was right there, that he crowd's cheering continued, and news of that event managed to spread around the town, surprising the people for most of the week.

* * *

The following day, a brand new jeep was heading through the road. As it got closer we see our heroes inside.  
"Thank goodness that's over", Brio smiled with success. "Say, Cortie - you know when you told the audience about your brother - is it true?"  
"Of course it's been true", Snappy smiled. "I was-"  
"Ahem. Is your name Neo Cortex or what?"  
"Er... nope", the alligator blushed.  
"He was right, mind you", Neo frowned. "I've been having problems with him since I was 11. After he destroyed my home, I'm hoping to seek revenge on him."  
Behind him, Boron started growling from his position, banging upon the back seats every few seconds or so.  
"I could be a big help - I can always keep one eye on the action", Brio smiled while revealing white teeth.  
All that Snappy could do was roll his eyes. "You can't even put one of your eyes on a table!"  
"He doesn't mean that", Neo growled. "He means that he's got good vision for everything."  
"Oh."  
"Well, let's move on!" Brio cheered, with Boron roaring behind him.  
The jeep headed towards the horizon and one step closer to another distant location. Where they could go next, they may not know for a while to come.  
"Where are we going then?" Snappy asked the others.  
"Ah!" they all exclaimed together.

-end of part 2-


	3. A Gradual Change

It has now been another few years since Nitrus Brio was accepted into the growing crew of Neo Cortex. Now the group has grown much more, and are now seen as young adults - well, maybe not in Snappy's case, but you get the idea. Anyhow, the gang were at a takeaway stand taking a lunch order, where another problem suddenly came along.  
"We'll have 3 duck stir-fries and an XL packet of prawn crackers, please", Neo spoke with a more mature voice.  
"That would be $10.96", belched the chef.  
The grub was paid for, leaving Neo to hold onto two of the boxed stir-fries and Boron to hold onto the other in his mouth and the prawn crackers on his back.  
"Okay guys - take 5!"  
And it wasn't long until they got stuck into the food. Within the pack, Boron was seen as the black sheep, getting cracker crumbs down his chest while eating them at a furious pace.  
"You know I've heard rumours that Tiko has been raiding LA as a Grand Theft Auto assassin under the nickname of the 'Cerulean Wizard'", blinked Brio as he looked onto his backpack left on his bench.  
"Really?!?" Snappy exclaimed, with Boron roaring nearby. "You must be joking man!"  
"It's true!" Brio nodded. "Get a load of this", he smirked while putting his stir fry on the floor and pulling out a newspaper from his backpack.  
"Let me see", the alligator growled while pulling the newspaper from Brio's hands. "NO KIDDING! Madonna in streak shocker!"  
"We're serious!" Neo shouted while punching Snappy on the side. "Check out the main story!"  
"Oh..." He brought his attention towards the main story. And it was there that he realized, that Brio told the truth. "WHATOWEDO? WHATOWEDO?"  
"Calm down - we'll think of a solution", he smiled.  
All of a sudden, a missile strikes Neo, causing him to scream with pain. Boron howls with agony as it happened.  
"CORTIE!" Snappy exclaimed towards him.  
"Hang on!" Brio jumped.  
All three of them surrounded Neo, whom in turn managed to sit up, rubbing his forehead with pain. And it wasn't long until he got on his feet again.  
"Ouch... that HAS to hurt", he groaned with pain before looking on at the others, all showing shocked faces in return. "Huh? Why are you guys staring at me like that?"  
Snappy's hands started shaking. "You've... changed!"  
"I don't feel any change", Neo replied back with confusion.  
"On the outside!!!" Brio jumped. "Your hair is now in some strange curved wedge!"  
"Kinda like half of Saturn", blinked Snappy.  
"And you have a big bold N on your head!" Brio managed to finish.  
Neo's eyes widened, while he pulled out a pocket mirror from Brio's backpack. "Let me see...!"  
"Well?"  
He brought the mirror towards the face, and saw his changed head appearance, his eyes widening at the glance of it. "NO LIE!"  
"Well, at least you'll be easily spotted!" Snappy smirked.  
"ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!" Neo growled back while slapping Snappy across the face.  
"Hey - I think I found a part of the missile in which caused the change!" Brio exclaimed towards the others.  
Snappy instantly brought himself back on both feet. "Let's see!"  
The gang rushed up to Brio holding part of the "missile". That in turn showed itself to be a wing part, shining with a strong metallic red coat.  
"This ain't a missile - It's a firework!"  
Snappy's eyes widened. "It's a bit late for July 4th, innit?"  
Neo slapped Snappy on the face again. "Remind me to take you to mood therapy next week." He then turned back to Brio. "Oh well, back to business."  
"This is part of the Ooze Splatter 300, a firework that splats ink when either the ignition is killed or it runs into something." He turned the wing around, seeing into a set of small print on the back. "The ink is..." He gulped. "Non- removable!"  
"OK, where did it come from?" Snappy asked.  
"That direction", he said when pointing up towards a building displaying a sign on the roof, showing that it was 'Mann's Chinese Theater'.  
"That place hasn't played anything in years!"  
"This could be his hideout!" Brio exclaimed back.  
"OK, Tiko - IT'S PAYBACK TIME!" Neo started chuckling to himself.  
"Yeah - let's go!"  
The gang headed for the theatre with angry looks on their faces and went through the rusty doors, leaning towards their next set of payback, whatever it could be. The corridors seemed to be so dark, even Brio's flashlight wasn't enough to light up much of the way!  
"I'm scared", Snappy said with his limbs shaking.  
"Snappy - stop being a baby!" Brio exclaimed towards him.  
"Or else I'll buy some diapers next time we come past a pharmacy!" Neo said while finishing off his sentence.  
"Fair enough", Snappy said while ceasing shaking and bringing his head down.  
"That's that sorted", Neo smiled before looking around. "BORON! Where are you?"  
While he shouted, Boron was rushing far ahead with fury... until he ran straight into a small mine on the ground. Upon contact, it exploded near his paws, causing him to howl with agony and rush back to the others.  
"That's what happens every time you go far ahead, young wolfie", shrugged Snappy.  
But Boron didn't listen. He instantly rushed towards Neo and cuddled up with him, suffering pain.  
"I know you're hurt", sighed Neo as he stroked Boron's head, "but I don't have a first- aid kit on me."  
Boron howled again, expressing big puppy-like eyes upon his head. He was then left to hug him harder at that stage.  
"Stay calm - everything will be OK."  
"Poor thing", frowned Brio as he looked on ahead. "But his actions were useful..."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Yeah - how can they be useful when he just crashed into a bomb?" Snappy asked back with a straight face.  
"The bomb was blocking the doorway to the main hall", smiled Brio. "With Boron's help, we can get through!"  
"BRILLIANT!!!!! LET'S GO!"  
"Snappy - wait!" Neo shouted over to him.  
But before he could say anymore, he dashed through the doors as fast as he can, looking straight in front of him upon entrance.  
"OK, whoever's looking for trouble best come out!"  
And just like that, a puff of green smoke showed upon the main stage, and it was there that Lio came through it.  
"You're askin' for trouble, kid?"  
Snappy nodded in front of him, bringing his hands out in front of him at the sight of him. And it was there that he jumped off the stage and rushed towards him.  
"Well, kiss your bride!"  
Lio punched Snappy back through the double doors, and upon landing he was seen in front of his companions in a bride outfit.  
"Is it safe to go in?" Neo asked him.  
"No, but I'm married."  
In the background, Brio laughed quietly, keeping his expressions to himself. That left Neo to growl back towards him.  
"It's not funny. We HAVE to check out what's going on. Let's roll!"  
And it was right there that they all headed for the doors, looking onto the scenery in front of him. By that time, Snappy was seen struggling to tear the dress off him.  
"OK guys - keep the plan in mind!" Neo commanded to the others.  
"YES SIR!" they exclaimed in unison.  
"Great!" Neo smiled before walking closer to the doors. "This is it... Good luck!"  
The gang went in to challenge Lio, who was seen looking near a 20ft mech on the edge of the stage, charging with electrical power.  
"Maybe Tiko was right", he sighed. "Someone may be strong enough to take us on...I guess our days are numbered as of now - that I feel afraid of."  
Suddenly, our heroes came straight down the seating isles, before rushing straight towards the main stage.  
"THAT'S MY HUSBAND OVER THERE!" Snappy exclaimed while pointing at Lio with one hand and tearing off the remains of the bride dress with the other.  
"Good job!" Brio smiled.  
Neo nodded before looking back at Snappy, whom was still seen struggling. "Now can you please take that bride gown off quickly!"  
And it was there that Snappy resorted by using his claws to chop off the remains, leaving white and pink cloths all over the floor.  
"I guess I WAS right - my time could be up here", Lio whispered to himself before turning straight towards the others. "Oh look - it's the croc, the wolverine and those 2 kids I don't know..."  
"Who are you calling kids?" Brio growled towards him.  
"Yeah, and you SHOULD know me", Neo shouted before jumping up. "I'm your bro!"  
"I doubt you're my stupid sibling because you look nothing like him!" Lio growled back.  
"That's because you haven't seen him for a while!" Brio responded.  
"Good point", nodded Snappy as he fought past the rags across the floor.  
"Oh well, back to business", sighed Neo. "You destroyed my home, didn't you?"  
"Yeah, but it's nearly finished repairs", Lio smiled.  
"You neglected me in front of the rest of the family!"  
"That's because you don't do anything right!"  
"And more importantly, you tried to clear the lives of thousands of innocent people back in Florida!"  
"So? What's your point?"  
"You're nothing but a lousy, two-faced, idiotic dork without feelings! Now you're going to pay for what you did to me!"  
Neo attacked with a charge straight at his brother, but Lio jumped over it and commanded his machine into firing his target...  
"LOOK OUT!" Brio shouted towards his partner.  
But it was too late - Neo was struck down immediately and Lio turned his machine round to face the others...  
"This doesn't look too good", Snappy frowned.  
"Stand back", said Brio with determination. "I'm going in."  
"Brio dude - wait!"  
"Why should I wait when I have a handy trick up my sleeve?"  
And in an instant, Brio mutated into the beast and used the claws on his hands to tear the machine from head to toe.  
"MY MACHINE!" Lio exclaimed. "Oh well..."  
It was there that Lio rooted inside his baseball cap and pulled out a ball of ooze. Once there he hurled it towards Brio, making him invulnerable.  
"Oh man", Snappy growled towards him. "You're gonna pay for this!"  
"I very much doubt it!"  
Lio chucks another ball of ooze, this time zapping Brio's energy and changing him back to his normal self...  
"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!" he exclaimed with pain.  
Snappy and Boron looked at each other, showing worried expressions upon their own faces. Then, they both took a step closer to one another.  
"We know what he did to us, right?" Snappy asked him.  
"YEAH!" Boron shouted back.  
"It's time to take care of business!"  
Snappy and Boron looked on at Lio with fury and vice-verca. Having seen the damage he caused, it looked like...  
"You very much are a pain in the you-know-what, aren't you?" Snappy asked Lio.  
"Not that much."  
In the background, Boron brought himself onto all fours, showing his claws and growling teeth while maintaining an angry expression.  
"What do you mean by 'not that much'?" Snappy said while rolling his eyes. "Surely you must have caused damage in your life..."  
"He has, idiot!" whispered Neo from his position. "Remember what I said..."  
"HA!" Lio shouted back. "THAT IS NOT TRUE!"  
"We saw what you and your siblings did to us!" Snappy started to growl. "Now... SUCK ON THIS!!!!!!!" He turned straight towards the wolverine. "Boron, you know what to do."  
Boron growled, before he gave out a long leap towards Neo, roaring as loud as he could as he managed to do so.  
"Ooh... Sassy mouth!" Lio laughed sadistically.  
"We'll show you sassy mouth!" Snappy shouted back. "Let's go, Boron!"  
And it was right there that Boron plunged himself towards Lio, leaving them both to fight over the ooze.  
"Oi! Get off!" Lio exclaimed.  
They both tugged and pulled for what seemed like forever, while Snappy came to revive the others...  
"Brio - This may be hard to take out, but here goes nothin'!"  
Snappy drew his claws out and used them all to try to cut him out of the ooze. Eventually, he was released from the grasp, leaving him to stand on both feet.  
"Thanks! I can do with that, but I don't have the strength to change back into the beast", he frowned weakly.  
"Stay down, dude. You've seen enough."  
Meanwhile, Boron was still at it with Lio. Now the ooze stretched up to half the length of the room!  
"You're getting tired, wolfie", Lio growled. "You can never take me on!"  
Boron still tried to pull the ooze off him, sweating along the way. Meanwhile, Snappy had unfinished business...  
"Here Cortie - let me help you out!"  
As soon as Snappy took a hold of Neo's hand, trying to pull him up… he instantly pushed the alligator away from him!  
"Back off! He's mine!"  
"Calm down - we're only trying to help!"  
"Look - He's been more of a brat more than anyone else I know! He's the one who insulted me before you found me! He's also the one who has that much strength to stop a London double decker! He must be the one who gets the last course..."  
"Careful now", the alligator panicked. "What did we say about-"  
But before he could speak any further, Neo did an instant submission attack on Lio from behind...  
"Aaaaaargh! Get off, you pest!"  
That ended up causing him to let go off the ooze, with Boron retrieving it, rolling upon the ground as he did so.  
"Nice catch!" Snappy smiled towards him. "NOW!"  
Boron instantly growled towards him, before he chucked the ooze all over Lio, causing him to lose his strength over time.  
"That's it! I give up!"  
"Oh do you?" Neo said with a proud look, before whistling from his position.  
The police force came out of nowhere - some of which held guns in their hands, others had bats, and the main officer stood up front with a pair of handcuffs.  
"OK, where is he?"  
At that instant, the gang pointed at Lio, whom was seen struggling to break free from his own ooze. That left the officer to step over him.  
"Take him away!"

* * *

Five minutes passed, and it was there that the gang were once again chilling with Chinese cuisine.  
"There goes one out of four", smiled Neo as he opened up a crate of noodles.  
"Thank God", nodded Snappy. "He nearly had us that time."  
"Oh well, that's life", sighed Brio.  
Neo then brought his head up towards the sky. "Then again there could be the others..."  
Boron screamed, with that reason, as well as getting a few noodles stuck in his head fur within his actions.  
"Calm down - we can thrash them!" Brio smiled with determination.  
"But they're just as strong, if not stronger!" Snappy exclaimed towards him.  
"Oh man...!"  
"Calm down", responded Neo. "We'll achieve that dream, even if it takes us until the millennium!"  
"Yeah", cheered Snappy. "Let's keep it positive!"  
The gang walked out of the Chinatown and head for their next area. But all they knew is that ever since Lio was in LA, the others could be in LA too.

* * *

Several hours later, our heroes made their way to La Brae Dinosaur Park. Once there, they were seen tracking down the remaining members of Tiko's gang with fury and speed, as along with many other areas of the city this may seem tough for them to find the lot... that was until this sudden event.  
"Any luck?" Brio asked from a statue of a mammoth.  
"Not as we speak", responded Neo as he popped his head out from the mouth of a model T-Rex.  
"Ditto", Snappy said from a pond before spitting out water like a fountain.  
Brio gave out a sigh from his position. "This could seem trickier than you think…!"  
"I suppose so", sighed Neo. "Hang on... Where's Boron?"  
"Look - Do you always lose that darn wolverine?"  
Neo responded with a sheepish nod. "Oh well, you can't keep an eye on them all! Any ideas on his..."  
"...whereabouts?" Snappy finished off. "I last saw him in the tar pits back there..."  
"Oh great", Neo said with panic.  
"Looks like you'll be the one bathing him tonight!" Snappy smirked from his position.  
It didn't take long for Neo to rush towards Snappy's direction and duck him underwater for several seconds. "Now I thought you stopped doing that!" He then released his grip. "Anyway, where are the tar pits?"  
"I don't mean to interrupt you, but I think we already found him", Brio blinked.  
"Huh?" Neo and Snappy said in unison.  
From straight up the path, Boron came running towards the crew covered in tar from head to toe.  
"Boron!" Snappy exclaimed while getting out from the water. "How the heck...!"  
Within time, Boron shook off the tar from his fur, in which got splattered onto his companions, leaving them to show faces of disgust back.  
"Hey - Not all over US!" Brio shrieked back.  
"Next time you go get a towel!" Snappy growled to him.  
"And next time YOU go get a guillotine so that you can commit suicide!" sighed Neo while he pushed Snappy back into the water.  
As soon as he finished his action, Boron started barking, leaving his cries to soon reach his ears.  
"He's trying to say something!" Brio shouted.  
Neo looked on at him with curious eyes. "I hope it's about my siblings...!"  
And just like a ray of hope, Boron nodded. That left Neo to smile with relief before he pulled Snappy out of the water, looking clean as a whistle.  
"YEEEEEEEEAH!" the alligator smiled before coming firmly onto the ground. "WE'RE GONNA THRASH THEM ONE!"  
"Not necessarily", Neo sighed.  
"Why?"  
"Because…"  
Before Neo could go any further, Boron started searching through his waistcoat pockets, pulling out a recognizable item to their eyes.  
"A black whip!" Neo exclaimed.  
"How interesting can THAT be?" Snappy blinked.  
"Look - when I was battered up over a decade ago, my sister Hallie used this", Neo nodded before pulling out a magnifying glass from Brio's backpack, searching alongside the strap. "And to prove so, it even has her fingerprints on it!"  
"Take us to the tar pit, boy!" Brio exclaimed.  
In an instant, Boron dashed off around the corner, leaving black tar footprints across the ground.  
"Don't let him get away this time!"  
And it was there that the gang followed him, or his messy footprints if things started to get desperate for them.

* * *

"I guess this is it", said Neo as he arrived at the pit himself - a deep hole covered in monochrome colors, going deep underground.  
"And look - footprints!" Brio said while pointing down.  
"I can recognize them anywhere - Nike size 7", smiled Snappy.  
"This must be her hiding place", Neo said with wide eyes. "We're taking her out!"  
The gang went down the tar pit for an unknown surprise. They were hard to grip on at first, but they managed to keep steady, and eventually went down the vertical tunnel with ease. Their target could have been down there... but if not, they are gonners.  
"I could do with an air freshener right now", said Snappy with a sickly tone. "I don't feel too good..."  
"I know your feelings", nodded Neo, "but the gangsters are more important!"  
"Yeah, but I... I... I feel like I'm going to throw up..."  
"Oh!" Neo's eyes widened.  
"Hang on", smiled Brio. "I've a solution!"  
Once there, he got out a breathing mask and a pack of oxygen, slotting the former onto Snappy's head and the latter on his back.  
"Does it work?" Brio asked him.  
"Thanks. I feel better!"  
"Be advised - the pack could cause a mass increase, causing you to lose your grip and..."  
"Details, details", the alligator growled back.  
But before he could say anything else, he slipped on some excess tar and plunged down thousands of feet screaming for help...  
"SNAPPY!" Neo gasped to him. "We're coming!"  
"Yeah, but not so fast!" panicked Brio. "I can't abseil as quick as..."  
Boron instantly bit Brio on the arm, causing him to fall towards the ground, following Snappy's footsteps.  
"I know I told Brio to speed up, but not like that", Neo frowned to him.  
Boron howled with guilt. Then they both climbed down as fast as they could to try and catch up with them, but... It was too late - the two were knocked unconscious upon landing.  
"Oh well, you can't win them all", Neo sighed.  
Boron rushed up to them and licked them on the face, using a sloppy tongue hidden inside his mouth.  
"Ugh!" Brio said with a disgust-filled face. "Doggy breath!"  
"Cut it out! You know what happened when you were gaining revenge on your mama's…"  
Boron immediately came off Snappy's chest, and once there he started crying lightly again, showing expressive puppy-like eyes.  
"I know you miss your family", Neo said while hugging onto his chest, "but not everything lasts forever."  
Suddenly, Boron sensed something. He then walked around and started growling and sniffing all over the place.  
"Does your wolverine always change its personality?" Brio asked.  
Neo responded with a shrug. "It depends on the situation."  
Before they could speak again, Boron turned straight back towards them, roaring back towards them.  
"Now what?" Neo asked.  
In an instant, Boron placed his fur into a pair of pigtails and skipped around on his own hind legs.  
"Let me guess - you've found her", Snappy smiled.  
Boron growled again and brought his attention straight towards a hole in the wall, walking straight towards it with deeper footsteps.  
"That must be her hiding place", Neo said with a whisper, with Boron to respond back with a roar.  
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Brio smiled. "Come on, let's go!"  
The gang rush off through the gap in the wall and head off for their target. From there they entered a big room full of dinosaur fossils from all sorts of prehistoric eras, most of these coming from the Jurassic period.  
"WOW!" Snappy exclaimed with widened eyes.  
"This is amazing!" Brio gasped towards the scenery.  
"That's definitely a hound's type of heaven", Neo smiled.  
Snappy brought his attention towards Neo. "Even Boron's?"  
"Er..."  
While that happened, Boron went up to one of the fossils and tried to yank one of the bones out...  
"Careful, Boron", exclaimed Brio. You don't know how delicate they are!"  
But Boron didn't listen. He still tried to tug out the bone, but... it still felt hard upon its very position.  
"Please be careful", Neo said with wide eyes. "You don't know what it could be like..."  
Strangely enough, the fossil brought out one of its legs and kicked Boron to the far side of the wall.  
"Now what?" Neo asked with shock.  
Snappy rushed towards it, looking on at its structure. "IT'S ALIVE!"  
Boron recovered and started growling at it. The skeleton came to tackle it, but it missed the target and got its foot stuck in the wall...  
"Go Boron!" Brio cheered on. "Stop it!"  
Boron jumped up onto the skeleton's back and grabbed the collarbone. From then he tried to force it to the ground...  
"Boron's sweating", panicked Snappy. "I doubt that he can take this!"  
"He CAN take this!" Brio shouted back.  
"I very much doubt it", said Neo with shocked eyes. "This thing may fly like a pterodactyl and sting like a bee!"  
"But he has the guts!" Brio jumped up.  
"Good point", nodded Snappy.  
After what seemed like forever, Boron took the collarbone out and the skeleton malfunctioned, collapsing like a pile of rubble.  
"YOU DID IT!" Neo cheered to him. "YOU DID IT!"  
"Way to go!" Brio responded back.  
"WHO LET THE DINOS OUT?" Snappy sung with a loud voice.  
As soon as they finished shouting, Boron started laughing to himself before dancing around the area with the collarbone in his mouth.  
"There goes one block of defense", nodded Neo. "Now for the girl..."  
Suddenly a blast came from the other side of the room and Hallie came out from the hole formed within the wall.  
"You called?"  
"Yeah - last week at the town square", Snappy joked. "I wanted you to call back, but..."  
Neo punched Snappy hard upon the back. "I thought you stopped doing that!"  
"Ha-ha! Hard luck!"  
Neo then brought his punches up towards Snappy's neck. "Next time I'll show you hard luck..."  
"SILENCE!" she exclaimed. "You brats really want to overthrow us?"  
"Of course we do - We came to LA to give you a taste of your medicine!"  
"So sorry, but I'm not getting it. Face my wrath... OR FACE YOUR DOOM!" she smirked viciously.  
They leered into her eyes with an angry face expression. Boron was no exception - he was growling like mad...  
"Calm down Boron - she isn't that harmful", nodded Neo with a straight face.  
"WHAT?" Hallie growled. "YOU CALLED ME PATHETIC?"  
Brio's face started to show a more sheepish expression. "We weren't saying that you're weak..."  
"You're as feeble as water, you big sumo-wrestler's butt!" Snappy said while pulling his tongue out.  
Neo then sighed angrily before bringing his attention towards Snappy. "Way to go, Mr. Crocodile Shoes..."  
"But I meant it!"  
"You did?" Hallie scowled.  
Snappy nodded with shame, bringing his face down to the ground and his head band hanging lower than usual.  
"Then prepare to be thrashed!" she shrieked back.  
Right after that, Hallie charged towards the gang with rage and managed to strike down Boron with her arms out.  
"Boron!" Neo shouted. "Hang in there", he said while rushing to him.  
Boron slowly turned to him, showing a scar on the forehead and a black eye and howling with pain.  
"Hang on - Let me take you to safety", he said calmly while taking a hold of the wolverine and bringing him out the way they came.  
Hallie returned to her position with clinching fists, starting to turn red with every single passing second.  
"If you think I'm pathetic... THINK AGAIN!"  
"That's it!" Brio growled back.  
And within a brief split second, Brio mutated into the beast and performed a seismic toss on Hallie...  
"WOW! Nice one, Brio Dude!" Snappy applauded from the sidelines.  
"Ouch!" Hallie exclaimed with pain.  
"That sorted her out..."  
"Just kidding!"  
She then uses her whip on them and struck them down to the floor, causing Snappy to have a bleed from his mouth and Brio to mutate back...  
"Look who's got the last laugh now!" she growled back.  
She removed an arm pad and attempted The People's Elbow - the Rock's signature finishing move - but... from behind the wall, Boron looked on with horror before trying to stand up.  
"Boron - stay down", Neo commanded.  
The wolverine then shook his head, before instantly bringing himself on all fours and dashing towards the hole.  
"Please wait - you don't have the strength!"  
But Boron proved him wrong - he stopped Hallie doing The People's Elbow by pouncing on her!  
Snappy then brought himself back up steadily. "Maybe he DOES have the strength after all!"  
Boron scratched and stomped on Hallie and made her powerless, bleeding from head to toe. He then started breathing rapidly and dragged her out of the room...  
"Where are you taking her?" Brio asked him.  
Boron roared while he dragged her to the top of the tar pits. Once that happened he howled loudly, causing the police to arrive again, with the rest of the gang soon to follow.  
"Boron, what are you doing..." Neo brought his head out from the pit, looking towards the police cars and officers around him. "Oh I see!"  
"WHO LET THE BABES OUT?" Snappy sung while poking his head up.  
"We've had enough of that already", sighed Brio from lower down the hole.  
"Sorry."  
Over time, the police secured Hallie and left with her... fairly quickly. Skid marks were left upon the ground, leaving the four in silence again.  
"Wow, Boron!" Neo smiled while bringing himself upon the ground and walking towards the wolverine. "You really showed us what you've got!"  
Boron smiled and nodded proudly, before he went to the edge and pulled Snappy and Brio from the hole.  
"You deserve the credit!" Snappy smiled. "Like, you tell us what treat you want and we'll get it!"  
Boron managed to find a wooden plank, rode it across the lake and came back with a bucket and spade.  
"Oh, we see what you mean!" Brio smiled back.  
"Good idea!" Snappy broadly grinned.  
"Uh-huh", Neo nodded. "We could do with a break right now!"  
"Let's ride!"  
The gang left the dinosaur park for somewhere they can have some R and R... but where will it be? After all, it's now obvious that Tiko and Deksta will also be in the city... but what kind of tricks will they have up their sleeve?

-end of part 3-


	4. The Path to the Dark Side

"Let's see", smiled Neo as he looked onto a checklist in front of him, with the sunlight blocking his eyes. "Spending money, sun tan, first-aid kit..." He went down the rest of the list cautiously. "I think we have everything for a good treat here!"  
"Surf's up!" Brio cheered, with Boron following the same guise from the background.  
Our heroes have arrived at Long Beach at the south of LA for a well- deserved break after taking care of Hallie. There was activity from everywhere the eye could see and the temperature was 100 degrees. The gang immediately hit the clear waters of the Atlantic Ocean for surfing...

* * *

About an hour later, the gang were having lunch – sandwiches formed through brown bread. They looked up, and saw a beautiful sight riding the skies.  
"Cool!" Snappy smiled. "A paraglider!"  
"I wish I drove one of those", said Brio with awe.  
"Well, if you want, you can buy one from the surf... shack..." Neo's eyes widened. "AYE CARAMBA!"  
"What?" Snappy exclaimed.  
"It's heading straight towards us!"  
"DUCK!" Brio shouted.  
All but Snappy ducked, leaving their backs exposed to the sky. The gator, however, continued to look around with a light smile upon his face.  
"QUACK!"  
"I said get down", Brio growled while pulling him down to the ground.  
While that happened, the paraglider flew right over them and crashed into the surf shack, knocking over surfboards, beach accessories and the shack's walls.  
"Oh great", Neo frowned. "We'd best see if he's alright."  
"Yeah", Brio nodded before he started walking over to the wreckage.

* * *

Once at the wreckage, the gang approached the injured paraglider, bringing as many surfboards and beach balls from the top of its body as they can.  
"Excuse me, sir, but are you all right?" Neo asked.  
"'Sir'?" It exclaimed in a deep female voice. "Who are you calling 'sir'?"  
The paraglider stood up onto both feet and revealed her identity... and they saw in front of their eyes that it was Deksta!  
"Oh no", sighed Neo. "Not her again!"  
At the very sight of her, Boron started growling with fury as he cautiously came further and further towards her.  
"You think the powers of siblings are useless?" she sighed. "I very much doubt it!"  
"She looks weak", Brio smirked. "We can thrash a girl!"  
"Stand back", sighed Neo. "She isn't all looks and no power..."  
"How can you tell?"  
"Er..."  
Deksta tried to attack them, but the gang only just jumped out of the way, leaving her to step into a sandcastle before turning around.  
"We need backup here", panicked Brio. "SNAPPY!"  
No answer. That left him to start looking around with widened eyes showing straight across his face.  
Neo then sighed angrily. "Don't tell us we've lost... him... ooh..." He then looked to his right. "Snappy's got a girlfriend!"  
In front of his eyes, Snappy was seen back on the sands speaking to a female alligator, smiling towards her.  
"So, sweet cheeks, what's your sign?" he asked her.  
"SNAPPY!" cried Neo's voice.  
"Oh", Snappy blinked before standing onto both feet. "Hang on, sexy mama!" He then rushed to the others. "What?"  
"HER!" Brio exclaimed while pointing towards Deksta.  
"Stand back, because this is gonna get rocky!"  
The gang were starring angrily at Deksta for what she tried to do to them, before she came closer towards them.  
"If you're thinking of bopping us into next week you're bopping up the wrong palm tree!" Snappy growled to her.  
"I'm not! You know what your little friend did to me in the past..."  
"That is not true!" Neo shouted.  
"Oh, of course it's false – as false as Tiko becoming the emperor of the world!" she smirked viciously.  
While that happened, Boron growled and started attacking her, with his claws straight out in front of him.  
"Hold it!" she shouted back.  
All of a sudden, Boron crashed into her and bounced back towards the others, rolling upon the ground as he did so.  
"What?!?" Brio exclaimed. "This is impossible!"  
"Tsk tsk tsk!" she smirked. "Look..."  
She pulled up a trouser leg to reveal a plate of armor attached straight onto it. She then laughed viciously before walking towards the four of them.  
"Kickin' Kylie Minogue!" Snappy gasped.  
"And that's just for starters!" she smirked back.  
"Look – you're messing with the undefeated champion of the PCSW - Panama City Superstar Wrestling!"  
"You fought a stray cat", Brio sighed while thinking back to that one of Snappy's many tall tales exclaimed in-between state visits.  
"And won!"  
Deksta growled straight towards him. "OK, show me what you've got."  
Right there, Snappy tried to tackle her with a charge... but he also bounced off the metal plating.  
"Ha-ha!" she smirked. "Doesn't work!"  
But suddenly, someone, or something, did a submission on her from behind, pulling her straight to the ground.  
"Hey – stop!" she shrieked.  
The identity was revealed – Snappy's girlfriend! She showed herself in full form – an alligator with long blonde hair, a sky blue sleeveless shirt and light brown hot pants.  
"Hey – nice shot, sweet cheeks!" Snappy smiled to her.  
During that time, the girl winked towards his direction and crouched down to Deksta's level doing something else to her.

* * *

Five minutes later, Deksta was soon brought back on her feet, leering at the others while pointing her back towards the main road.  
"I bet a submission didn't hurt me! Bring in what else you have!"  
"You got it!" Brio smirked. "Go Boron!"  
Boron tried to tackle her again... and this time he shunted her into the air, knocking her into a viper parked across the road.  
"Ouch... that was impossible..." She pulled up her trouser leg, seeing her own legs barely covered. "What? My armor's gone?"  
During that time, the gang rushed up to Deksta, showing ambitious expressions upon their own faces.  
"Looks like it's the cells for you", Neo growled back towards her.  
"I very much doubt it!"  
She brought out a toothpick and used that to start the viper's engine. Once there she stepped on the gas and drove off.  
"She's getting away!" Brio exclaimed.  
"Quick – to the jeep!" Snappy jumped.  
The gang rushed to their jeep and hopped in all together, looking onto the road around them. Neo then growled as he took out the keys and started the ignition.  
"OK, we need full power here!" Snappy commanded to him.  
"I'll try!"  
The car screeched and zoomed off at 100 km/h towards Deksta, whom was already seen far ahead of them. But little did they know that ahead of them was a quiet street for a main road – quiet as in hardly any cars. It was busy with plenty of activity on both sides with friendly people welcoming welcome visitors to what's in store...  
"Hot dogs! Hot dogs! Get them while they're hot!"  
"Come on get your ice cream while it's cold, kids!"  
"Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Cerulean Wizard hits Hollywood!"  
All of a sudden, two vehicles came from one end of the streets, one being a brand new red viper, the other being a cream colored jeep, both traveling at the average of 120 km/h. As they rode through the streets they chased off the chef, capsized the ice cream truck and crashed into the paperboy's stand, sending newspapers coming through the car roofs...  
"Why did you have to crash into the paperboy's stand?" Brio asked Neo.  
"Forget about that – I can't see where I'm going!"  
"Let me help", Snappy smiled.  
Snappy tried to move all the newspapers from the driver's area and stuffed them at the back.  
"This is looking hard", blinked Snappy before looking at the main story. "Oh look... I FOUND TIKO!"  
"Later", growled Neo. "For now, we have someone else on the run." He then turned towards Brio. "Brio! Try slowing her down..."  
"It would be my pleasure!"  
He got a pistol from out of his backpack, and climbed upon the back, trying his best to keep his balance as he did so.  
"Hey girlie!" he shouted towards her.  
"Yeah, what?" Deksta asked while turning towards him.  
"Eat this!"  
He fired the pistol, causing one of the tires to pop and the viper spinning round until it crashed into a tall building.  
"Nice shot, Brio dude!" Snappy cheered.  
Neo smirked back. "Now we can leave her to the boys in blue!"  
But to some surprise, Deksta came out of the car all in one piece, with her hair sticking up as a minor exception.  
"Oh, shave my legs and call me Pussy Galore", Snappy frowned.  
"How did she do that?" Brio asked.  
While that happened Boron growled angrily, jumped straight out of the jeep and started chasing her across the street.  
"That's using the old brain cells!" Neo chanted.  
"Yeah!" cheered Snappy. "Go Boron! Go Boron!"  
Boron chased her into a block of flats. When he got in, he completely lost track of her, leaving his eyes to widen. After that, the other members of the gang came in and saw what happened.  
"Er, at least you tried, fuzzy", Snappy shrugged.  
"Look – there still could be a hope", Neo smiled. "With Deksta trapped inside, it would be no problem hunting her down!"  
"Yeah!" Brio responded. "Now we need a way to get her out..."  
"Let's see", said Neo as he looked upon a nearby map of the building. "Brio, you check the top."  
"But I'm afraid of heights!"  
"Here", Neo smiled while pulling out a bag of jawbreakers from his pocket and putting it in Brio's hands. "Whenever you get scared, suck on these as hard as you can."  
"Thanks", Brio nodded.  
Neo then turned towards the others. "Snappy, you check the underground."  
"Roger!"  
"Boron, you search from the ground floor to the 7th floor."  
"YEAH!" he said with a toothy smile.  
"Snappy's missus, you can check the area from the 14th floor to the 21st. I'll scram on the middle."  
Everyone nodded with agreement with the decision, before they all started walking towards separate lifts and staircases.  
"Remember – if anyone finds Deksta, contact us on the radar", Neo said while pointing towards a small green mobile unit in his hand.  
They all nodded together, showing similar devices upon their own hands before putting them away quickly.  
"OK, LET'S MOVE!"  
The gang split up to their areas in order to find Deksta. Following Brio, he went up the steps to the ceiling and went through a loft for the rooftop. This is where he started his search for Deksta and where he started sucking on Neo's jawbreakers for calmness. After just an hour of searching, he had no luck...  
Brio started to pant. "I very much doubt that I'll find her. I bet the rest of the gang will have better luck..."  
Just as he was about to get his walkie-talkie out of his pockets a footstep was heard from the above floor. He immediately gasped at the chance...  
"If that's someone arriving here, I'll check it out", he smiled.  
He saw that the floor upstairs is the roof. He climbed out of a window above him and looked everywhere...  
"That's strange. I sensed someone here", he blinked with curiosity.  
Then a dark shadow appeared from behind the lift, showing itself to be a figure with shouder-length hair.  
"Are you okay up there?" Brio asked.  
"I am... after I rid of you!"  
"Eh?"  
The person came out of the darkness, showing itself in full glory. At the sight of it, Brio gasped and pointed towards… her.  
"Deksta! You..."  
"I know – tried to spoil your day at the beach", she said while rolling her eyes. "That's a daft excuse..."  
"You call that daft! You did something more harmful than that. You tried to kill two of my friends!"  
"Lame!" she laughed sadistically. "If I really slaughtered them, what would you do to us?"  
Brio's body started to glow with a green aura. "First I would do this and then screw you up!"  
In an instant, Brio mutated into the beast, runs up to her and tries to tackle her, but Deksta jumped out of the way and body slammed on him before he looked behind him.  
"Say your prayers, beastie boy!"  
Brio tried to break free, but he mutated back and became unconscious during that occasion. She then smirked before looking on ahead of her.  
"You are no match for me, dork!" she smirked viciously.  
Suddenly, a voice was heard from the staircase, leaving her ears to prick up at the sight of them, her eyes widening with them.  
"That's what you think!"  
"Oh yeah?" She started to turn around. "Come over here, you..." Her expression then showed fear. "Uh-oh..."  
She saw the rest of the gang looking angry towards her, Boron especially - he was growling with all his fury!  
"How did you guys know all about it?" she asked.  
"Ask her!" Neo said while pointing towards the female alligator.  
"Yeah! I bet she heard it all!"  
The female alligator nodded towards his direction, with her hair blowing lightly upon the breeze around them.  
"You are no match for me!" Deksta shrieked towards them.  
"Oh yeah?" Neo shouted back. "Give it to her, Boron!"  
Boron roared with rage and pushed her off the building. Deksta screamed for help, but she had no hope – she hit the ground and looked gored on impact.  
"Ouch, that HAS to hurt!" Snappy shouted back.

* * *

Half an hour later, the police and an ambulance arrived to sort everything out. During that time, Neo was seen confronting a police officer, looking upon him with curious eyes.  
"Having seen all the artefacts and listened to your story, Mr. Cortex", he started, "we have plans for our casualties. Deksta will be taken to hospital for a blood replacement before heading to jail, while Brio will have an examination on his head injury. We don't know if he'll still be alive..."  
"It will be all right", Neo nodded. "We'll wait for him in the hospital's waiting room."  
"What do you mean, 'we'?"  
"There's me, Boron at my feet and..." Neo looked around – not a single sign of Snappy and the female alligator anywhere. "Where did the crocs go?"  
"Don't worry about that – we're sure they'll come back."  
After coming down from the top of the building Neo and Boron head straight towards the hospital for Brio's sake.

* * *

3 hours passed since the surgery started, and a whole day since the long battle against Deksta. Neo was staring into space, while Boron was asleep on the couch...  
"Brio, if you're a goner", frowned Neo, "we're all going to miss you. We'll remember the good times and the bad times, but most importantly, how much effort you put in to help us out... please... don't go..."  
A tear ran down his cheek and onto the cold tiled floor. Then he looked down with disappointment. But suddenly the doors of the surgery room opened. At the chance Neo turned to the door eagerly, while Boron woke up and looked ahead. Over there, the nurse came out holding Brio's hand. At yet, his head hasn't been seen yet.  
"The operation has been proved to be both successful and a failure", she said in a sweet voice.  
"How can it be a failure if Brio's still alive?" Neo asked her.  
"See for yourself."  
Brio popped his head out. Immediately Boron screamed and jumped behind the couch. Neo, however, looked both surprised and scared at the same time...  
"Brio... what... happened to you?" Neo asked with shock.  
"We had to do some minor alterations on him", she said while lowering her head. "Because of a heavy blood loss, you can see why the bolts are there."  
"A very unhealthy combination, but why?"  
"We were told to save his life, and that's what we did. And besides, we need to keep his head screwed on!"  
Neo gave out a worried giggle. "Looks... odd..."  
"I believe s-s-so!" Brio stuttered.  
"I hope you can cope with the pressure, Brio dude", nodded Neo.  
"Course I c-c-c-can!"  
"OK..." Neo's eyes then twitched. "Hang on... has he started stuttering?"  
"Let us explain", smiled the Nurse. "The attack lost a small part of Brio's brain, causing him to stutter a bit. Elsewhere, he's doing just fine." She turned towards him. "Aren't you?"  
Brio nodded before turning to the couch. "Boron, y-y-you can come out n-n-n-now!"  
Boron popped his head out slowly, but then dived back at the sight of his face. Worried eyes started to show right upon him.  
"Calm d-down, there's nothing to b-b-b-be afraid of!" Brio smiled. "I'm still the s-s-same person inside!"  
Boron popped his head out again, still shaking with fear upon his own two eyes. He brought his head up to Brio's level, trying to hold in his fear.  
"There. Th-th-that's it! G-good boy!"  
Boron looked at Brio, stopped shaking and smiled towards him, He then placed forward one of his paws, touching his companion's right hand.  
"There you g-g-go! It's not t-too bad!"  
Then, just a few seconds later, Snappy came rushing straight into the waiting room, looking excited.  
"Guys – you won't believe this", he smiled.  
"Snappy, not now", Neo growled.  
"PLEASE! IT WILL MAKE YOU SMILE!"  
Neo resorted with a sigh. "OK, but make it snappy, Snappy!"  
"My girlfriend and I had a session last night..."  
"Oh, so th-that's where you were", Brio said while shaking.  
"And?" asked Neo in a bitter tone. "What happened?"  
Snappy paused for a while to build tension. He then took one step forward, looking onto the others with a wide toothy smile.  
"She's pregnant!"  
Boron fainted at the exact response, while both Neo and Brio gasped with shock upon their own two faces.  
"What?!?" Snappy asked. "Is it a bad thing?"  
"No, it isn't", Neo shook his head smiling, "but tell her we said congratulations!"  
A cheer was heard from the surgery room, leaving the three of them to start smiling and chuckling together.  
"I guess they're all proud, huh?" Snappy asked.  
"Yeah, but let's get b–b-back to the matter at hand", Brio said while nodding. "You s-said that you found Tiko, r-r-r-right?"  
"Yeah. It said in all the newspapers that ended up in our jeep during the chase that's he's over at Hollywood. It was said that the streets were entirely destroyed and so will the movie studios if we don't hop it!"  
"Hang on", Neo said while bringing Boron up onto all fours, whom was starting to regain his senses. "We're ready to roll!"  
"Yahoo!!!" Snappy exclaimed while jumping up on both feet.  
In an instant, the gang rushed out of the hospital and ran towards the Hollywood region as fast as they could.

* * *

It wasn't long until they actually got there. But even at this dark stage they were still dashing across these streets trying to track down Tiko...  
"This is gonna take ages to find him", said Snappy while panting. "Can't we just split up to cover more ground?"  
"Wh-wh-what if we l-l-l-lose each other?" Brio asked him.  
"We did it while we were looking for Deksta", he growled back. "And please will you stop with the stuttering thing? It's getting on my nerves!"  
"Take it easy, Snappy", nodded Neo. "Hollywood is a bigger place than that office building, and if we split up, we could easily get hurt, like Brio was last time."  
While he spoke, Boron starts shaking with fear, leaving him to cower right behind legs as he did so.  
"So, any ideas on Tiko's hideout?" Neo asked.  
"I don't know about this", frowned Snappy.  
While that happened, a missile tries to attack the gang, but it went right through them and hit the Warner Brothers' water tower.  
"We've an idea now", Neo smiled while point towards one side of the street. "It came from THAT direction!"  
"Cool!" Snappy smiled. "That's where they're filming that Young Indiana Jones TV show thing!"  
"I've heard of h-h-him", Brio smiled. "He's ace as a character!"  
"Enough with the compliments", Neo gestured towards the others. "Let's roll!"  
Boron howled with anger while the gang rushed towards the studios, leaving behind loud footsteps as they did so.

* * *

Five minutes later, the group were seen looking around the walls and gates for a way to get inside the complex.  
"This doesn't look too healthy", sighed Neo. "There are patrol guards everywhere!"  
"Lame!" Snappy scowled towards the others. "I handled twice as many buggers back in '71 trying to break in to a sewage treatment works trying to save a little boy that strolled down there."  
"If y-y-y-you know how to beat security p-patrol", Brio said towards him, "Give us a str-str- strategy!"  
"Er..."  
"Think about it", smiled Neo.  
"I'm trying..."  
A few seconds passed, and it was there that Snappy hung his head down low, as well as both of his arms.  
"Sorry, my mind is blank."  
Neo turned his attention to him. "I'll give you a hint – Indiana Jones."  
"Indiana Jones... THAT'S IT!"

* * *

Five minutes went on, and the security patrol guards were still seen guarding the entrance as usual, until Neo and Brio came in dressed up as deliverymen, holding Snappy in a box and Boron tied on the neck in chains acting atrocious."  
"What can I do for you?" the guard asked them.  
"Special delivery from the African jungles!" they exclaimed with unison.  
Boron was still acting as mad and Snappy was shaking about in the box, almost bringing the box into shreds.  
"What do we have here?" the guard asked.  
"Just some p-p-p-props for the latest Indiana Jones s-s-show!" Brio smiled.  
"Come in", the security guard smiled. "The director's been inspecting you."  
The gates opened and the gang went straight inside, walking upon the clean tarmac ground in front of them.  
"Don't forget – the shooting's on the right of the water tower and he's in studio 8", the guard commanded them.  
"Thank you!" both Neo and Brio waved back.  
They took the right and then they stopped out of the way of the guard's sight. From there, their faces showed relief.  
"Phew!" Neo smiled. "Thank goodness we got in."  
"Yeah", Snappy sighed while he brought his head out of the box. "I thought I was gonna die! You know, suffocation..."  
"That was j-just the hardest stage!" smiled Brio as he untied Boron from the chains.  
"I agree", Neo nodded back. "Now we can go for Tiko."  
"And look", Snappy smiled as he pointed towards a set of dusty footprints on the ground. "He left a trail of footprints here!"  
"Let's follow them!"  
"We'd better not – they'd send us in a loop here. We're not lucky for this."  
"Luck doesn't matter. Just remember the moral – don't give up hope."  
"Why not?"  
"Because... er... ah, forget it", Neo sighed.  
"Guys – l-l-look!" Brio exclaimed.  
"What?" Snappy asked with widened eyes. "And you're looking at the wrong place, Brio dude."  
"It isn't. Get over h-here..."  
And so they did, with Boron growling with all his fury. Brio was seen looking through a keyhole in one of the doors to the studios. That was where the trail of footprints ended.  
"This is no time for I Spy", Snappy growled. "We're tracking down footprints."  
"Exactly!" Neo smirked. "And they end here!" he said while randomly pulling out a wooden mallet and striking Snappy on the head.  
"Ouch", the gator exclaimed dizzily.  
"Anyway, what can you find in there?"  
"There's some s-s-s-sort of machine", Brio gasped while looking through the keyhole.  
"A machine? It's probably a robot of some kind."  
"Or maybe an android!" Snappy smiled back.  
"Snappy – a robot and an android are nearly the same thing."  
Snappy's expression showed confusion. "But I thought they..."  
"Oh well, let's s-see if we can get in", Brio said while pulling hard on the door handle. "Too b-b-bad the door's locked."

* * *

Inside the building, Tiko was seen walking straight towards the machine himself, with his tail twitching from his position.  
"Soon, soon, my master plan will be unleashed, and the whole of the United States will be destroyed, and I will start a new generation!" he then laughed sinisterly.

* * *

"Is there a way to knock the door down?" Neo asked the others, looking back and forth between the door leading inside the studio and his companions.  
"Of course", he smiled. "Remember – I got a red belt in karate, so I'll handle it."  
Snappy tried to karate kick the door down, but he failed and became exhausted soon after his attempt.  
"OK, so str-str-str-strength isn't everything", Brio sighed.  
Suddenly, the door creaked its way open, leaving their expressions to instantly widen at the sight of it.  
"Wow, Snappy – you made it!" Neo exclaimed with shock.  
"Let's r-roll!" smiled Brio as he stood near Neo's side.  
At that moment in time, the gang rushed into the building with dignity showing upon their own faces, as well as the occasional feeling of excitement.

* * *

"Looks like I'm ready to launch my master plan", smirked Tiko from inside, continually looking on at his machine.  
During that time, the footsteps of the gang were heard. That caused him to look behind him, seeing them all standing there.  
"Some visitors? The travelers of the foolish American dreams..." He then folded his arms. "You'll never save yourselves this time!"  
"What do you want with the states?" Neo asked him.  
"Yeah!" Snappy cried. "We ain't done nothin'!"  
"Yeah you did – you locked up my siblings!" Tiko growled back. "Now, I want revenge!"  
"R-r-revenge isn't everything", Brio said while shaking his head.  
"I can't agree more", Neo smirked back. "Now let's see what your lame excuse for a master plan is."  
"Very well, then, but I shall not lose", Tiko sneered back.  
Tiko stepped out of the way and unveiled the project. It showed itself as a tall tower filling the area, with a powerful bright light at the top.  
"Oh my goodness!" Neo exclaimed. "That is the biggest atomic bomb I have ever seen!"  
"Yeah!" Snappy followed. "But where's the timer?"  
Tiko pointed up towards the top of it. "Once the timer reaches zero, the whole of the United States of America will be destroyed, giving me room to start a new league!"  
"That's the d-d-dumbest plan I've ever heard, and it c-c-c-can't even wipe out the w-warehouse!" Brio growled, with Boron following suit.  
"Well, we'll see about that", Tiko smirked while using a dial around his wrist to switch the machine's timer to 3 minutes. "That's just enough time for me to flee the country!"  
"You aren't going anywhere, bro!" Neo growled back to him. "You're coming down with us!"  
Neo charged into Tiko like a football player and repeatedly punched him in the face until he was bruised.  
"Ouch", he said back with pain.  
"Come down with us if you want us gone", Neo sighed back.  
"I very much doubt it!"  
Tiko pushed Neo out of the way and once again tried to the door, where the rest of the gang were waiting.  
"Like Neo dude said", Snappy sneered, "you ain't goin' nowhere, Aquarius!"  
"Prove it", Tiko smirked back.  
"OK, here goes nothin'!"  
Snappy did a karate kick on Tiko in the nuts and Boron sneaked up from behind with a submission. Tiko squealed with pain and once again collapsed.  
"If you want us to die, forget it!" Snappy smirked.  
Tiko charged out again and checked the timer record. 90 seconds. With panic, he rushed out towards the door and tried to open it. After a good attempt, he started panicking...  
"G-g-g-guess who has the k-key!"  
Brio was seen with the key in his hand. Then Tiko went in a rage and knocked down Brio, taking the key from him.  
"SUCKER!"  
He rushed for the door and opened it, but right in front of him… he saw that the police were there to stop him.  
"FREEZE!" exclaimed the main officer.  
At the very sight of him, Tiko stood still and got taken in by the cops. As soon as he vanished from sight, the others all smiled to one another.  
"Nice job, guys!" Neo smiled. "That's all the siblings finally taken on."  
"Yeah, b-b-but we had one thing left t-t-t-to sort out", Brio panicked.  
"What?"  
"The bomb!" Snappy panicked. "It's gonna go off any minute!"  
"I'm on it!" Neo said as he ran towards it.  
"Be careful!"  
Boron howled with nerves as Neo started climbing to the top of the bomb, where the timer was in wait. The timer was counting down – 10, 9, 8, 7, 6... He climbed with all his speed and fury, and by the time he was at the top, the timer was on 3...  
The timer was going – 2... 1... He was approaching the timer with great care and was about to deactivate it... 

And it was there… that the timer reached zero.

* * *

It has been a few days since the attack occurred. At that moment in time, Snappy was seen in a hospice (as apposed to hospital) bed, resting, with a life machine next to him. Several casts and bandages covered his body. A few seconds later he got awakened by the nurse coming in to check on him...  
"How are you feeling?" he asked him.  
"Not too good", he said in a faint voice. "I don't have a clue what happened..."  
"Your friend stopped the whole of America being blown up... by blocking the blast."  
"Blocking it?!?" Snappy shouted, before he started giving out wheezy coughs.  
"Take it easy, or else you'll..."  
"...weaken my lungs a bit more, I know", he frowned.  
"I know how you feel, but your time has to be up sometime", she sympathized.  
"Yeah", he said while lowering his head. "But how's the others?"  
"Well..."  
"Starting with my girl. She is very important to me."  
"She escaped the blast, and she is still pregnant", the nurse responded very quickly.  
"Thank the stars!" Snappy smiled. "And..."  
"Boron, however, got caught in the blast and started acting a little... strange since then", she blinked back.  
"Strange?"  
"Yeah. He tried to free Tiko and the others from their cell."  
Snappy then raised his voice again. "What a plonker!" He then suddenly started choking.  
"I said calm down, Snappy", the Nurse smiled. "Everything will be all right."  
"I hope so", he frowned.  
The nurse then sighed with disappointment, before she walked her way straight towards the other side of the bed.  
"And what happened to the others?" he asked her.  
"You mean Neo Cortex and Nitrus Brio?" she said in return. "They survived, but..."  
"But?!?"  
"But they started acting... cruel to everyone."  
Snappy then shouted again. "They're even more dumb..." He then attempted to swear, but he then gave out wheezy coughs again.  
"Take it easy", the Nurse smiled while placing a hand upon his shoulders. "The last place they were seen were on a cruise ship heading for Australia."  
"Australia? You mean the way down under?"  
"Yes, but they were caught in a freak storm near 3 islands off the South East coast and haven't been seen since."  
"I hope they survive", he frowned.  
"We have big wishes for them, whether they're nasty or not."  
"I wish them luck too."  
The nurse then looked down in disappointment, before she walked her way towards the other side of the bed, looking through the window as she did so.  
"Well... I guess it is time to say goodbye to this world", Snappy frowned while looking down at his fatal condition.  
"We'll miss you loads" the nurse sighed miserably.  
The nurse reached for the life support machine next to the hospice bed, and placed her hands upon its switch.  
"Farewell, Snappy", she sighed. "It's been nice knowing you."  
And in an instant, she flipped the switch, causing the generators to gradually close down around him.  
He then started to speak faintly. "I'll... be... with... everyone's... hearts... forever..."  
Having spoken those words, Snappy started to shake a bit... and eventually freeze, and his eyelids drop over his eyes slowly. From there the nurse looked on with even more disappointment. Snappy Gator has died.  
"You surely are in my heart", the Nurse said as she walked out of the ward.

* * *

_"It has now been shown that when you're alone, you help no one. As for being with a great friend like Snappy, you get a lot out of you. In fact, it may have been a bit too much for Neo Cortex, but in the end it's all down to the effects from your enemies. After all, it takes one mad family to cause such a dramatic effect on a previous generation.  
As a result, they managed to save the Earth, but they didn't manage to save themselves."_

-fin-

* * *

_"Schoolhouse Rock" is © Rexy 2000. Neo Cortex and Nitrus Brio are © Universal Interactive Studios 1996-2000. All other characters are © Rexy 2000. All rights reserved._


End file.
